In a New Light (EN)
by Bebec
Summary: Sequel " What the Devil needs (EN)" – An elevator, our two partners who go into it… Fluffy stuff, you say? Not really. It'll be hot, though… In a way. COMPLETE
1. Prolog

**Author's notes:**

 _I promised a sequel, there is the sequel ^^_

 _There have so many things to talk about! Like his vulnerability and her miracle-stuff. There will be several chapters, not a lot. This first prolog is very short but it was essential; you'll quickly understand why._

 _Happy reading!_

* * *

 **PROLOG**

* * *

 _ **Ten…**_

He rushes to the doors and grazes his hands on the metal.

This isn't possible.

 _ **Nine…**_

A tremor and he tumbles on his back.

He hears her screaming and tumble too.

 _ **Eight…**_

He uses his hands to stand up while another tremor shakes the elevator filled with stifling smoke that only partially hides this short countdown.

He coughs, he suffocates. Then he reaches out for her.

 _ **Seven…**_

He can feel her fingers touching his but another tremor pulls them away from each other.

Fear overwhelms him.

There's not much time left.

 _ **Six…**_

He can't get her out of here in time.

Sparks dance before his eyes reddened by the smoke around him.

He can't stay here and do nothing; he can't let her die.

 _ **Five…**_

" _Detective ! "_

He coughs again and looks for her.

Another tremor and the elevator falls from a few meters. He hears her scream in front of him, frightened. Her scream mingles with the grinding noise made by the metal against the concrete of the building. His hands are tensed on the walls. He tries to fight the panic overwhelming him, too.

They're falling.

 _ **Four…**_

The fall stops abruptly, a terrible snap resounding outside as the whole elevator shakes with this frail balance above the void.

He lets out an exclamation of relief, however quickly caught up with panic.

 _ **Three…**_

" _Lucifer ! "_

He sees her crouching in the opposite corner, moving her trembling hand towards him.

He leans over, he tries to reach her.

Her hand…

 _ **Two…**_

Their fingers touch each other, they are brushing against each other.

Their eyes meet, sharing the same panic.

 _ **One…**_

" _**Chloe !**_ "

A scream. Quickly followed by hers.

" _**Lucifer !**_ "

A new explosion above them break their eye contact and keeps their hands apart from each other.

They fall one last time.

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

I'm late with my translation, so I hope being able to publish in two weeks. We'll see. Thanks for reading me. Let a little comment ! X3

Bye bye !


	2. Later

**Author's notes:**

 _Hey !_

 _I was hanging around on my AO3 profile this afternoon when I saw something that made me laugh. I had 666 hits on this sequel. No more, no less. If this number is not a sign from our lovely Lucifer! XD_

 _So… thanks to this, I've decided to publish one week earlier the second chapter._

 _Happy devilish reading !_

* * *

 **LATER**

* * *

 _[Two hours earlier]_

Lucifer hid his umpteenth yawn behind his palm and rubbed his eyes, exhausted by the detective's overrunning vigor on this new case.

Did she never have fun?

Did she only know what this word could mean?

He was rather skeptical about it.

He put the boring file that he was unsuccessfully trying to read for five minutes now on his partner's desk and rested his back against his uncomfortable seat. What wouldn't he give for a scotch… Lucifer sighed and turned his seat to the big glass board covered with pictures and various papers useful to the investigation. Chloe was turning her back to him, her tense posture still showing the intense reflection in which she was entangled.

" Are you trying to melt this board with your insightful mind, Detective? ", he teased her, leaning on the desk.

" No, I'm trying to find our suspect… Wanna give a shot? ", replied the young woman immediately without turning, her finger touching each paper.

" With pleasure! Let's go think about this with a drink at Lux! "

He pretended to stand up and walk towards the mean stairs of the precinct.

" Go ahead. ", said the detective absent-mindedly, who hadn't move an inch. " I'm staying here. "

Lucifer sighed deeply again while rolling his eyes, annoyed by her tireless obstinacy. Even Mazikeen was taking a slight break from the time she tortured damned souls in Hell. He turned back and joined Chloe in this useless cogitation.

" You can do that? ", she suddenly asked.

" Excuse me? "

" Melting things with your eyes? "

" I'm the devil, Detective; not a bloody _X-men_ ! ", replied her partner.

She shrugged, apparently thinking that this possibility was not that absurd that he was saying.

" Just asking.", she said, looking at the glass board again. " And, you know… the devil is supposed to control fire, so… "

" _Uhg_ … Bloody Hell! ", exclaimed Lucifer, sighing again. " I'm a fallen angel; not a match or a laser beam! What kind of books are you reading lately? "

" Every kind. The Holy Bible isn't really useful for my research, though. "

" Can't say I'm surprised. The Bible isn't really useful except for praising the **A** lmighty **D** ouche, Detective. ", assured her partner, putting his hands in his pockets. " You really thought finding some truth in this old book? That could be a modern version of _faith_ … "

The young woman merely nodded as an answer, still stubbornly looking the glass board before them.

" I don't think it's so far from the truth as you say. It describes you like a lustful imp having a deep taste for all sorts of perversion, for instance. 'Sounds like the truth for me, doesn't it? "

Chloe smiled at him when he didn't, annoyed.

" I can't deny my good taste for funny activities. ", he granted. " But why even read this _so-called divine_ nonsense when you have a priceless source of information right here? "

He was the priceless source, of course.

Who better than he could correctly answer in details to his partner's questions? A question about the devil needed an answer from the devil himself, didn't it?

" What if this _great_ source of information always eludes one question of mine? ", said then the detective.

" What? I do-… "

He kept quiet.

It would have been complicated for Lucifer to pretend not to understand this clever hint. He was far from being stupid. Just like Chloe. She knew him, recently accepted as the actual devil or not. And Lucifer Morningstar wasn't that difficult to understand. Immortal being or not, he was acting just like any other human being who had to face an unpleasant situation he would rather not to; although this simplistic parallel didn't please him.

He didn't look like anyone else.

He was Lucifer.

Yet, he was as simple as a human could be by constantly eluding this talk. A part of it, at least. A tiny part put aside that night because he asked her. And because she was agreed to do so.

" _Not tonight. "_

A week had passed. And then another. A long peaceful time not to worry about this tiny part put on hold until a later date. It hadn't been easy at first, of course. Lucifer could hardly bitch about that to the detective who had had her own way to deal with these big changes in her life; she who had accepted him so easily that night. He could understand her odd behavior in Charlotte's presence as soon as she walked into the room. He could understand her need to talk with Mazikeen and thus reassure her mother's fears; although the description of the demon about her former job in Hell didn't really help at the time.

And he could understand her need for answers about anything and everything since. Just as Chloe could understand his own behavior about this talk. She had given him time, as much as he had left her to accept this big news.

" _This explanation will be for another time, if you don't mind. If there is another time, of course. "_

For _another time_.

Here it was. She had waited long enough and he had eluded long enough.

This new case and this vile bomber wouldn't be enough to distract her from this urgent need to know. Once the detective started searching for answers, nothing in the world could stop her.

Not even the devil himself.

" Detective, I don't know what yo-… ", he tried anyway, simply unable to open this closed door.

" Lucifer, I get it. ", she interrupted him, not angry at all. " I know there's something you don't want to tell me because you fear I react badly or that I run away from you, but… After everything you've told me about the demons, angels, God… I think I wouldn't be here right now talking to you if I couldn't handle it. So… Whatever you have to tell me, I'm sure I can hear it. You can trust me, okay? "

Trust…

" _I trust you. "_

But would she still trust him after that?

They both looked at each other, one eager for answers as the other was eager for a way-out.

" Detective, I-I'm…uhm… ", Lucifer stammered awkwardly.

" Hey! Guess _who_ had big news about our dear bomb victim Martha Jameso-…? ", Ella exclaimed joyfully as she arrived behind them.

Lucifer and Chloe quickly moved away from each other, only realizing now that they were barely a few inches between them until Ella's loud arrival. The forensic stared at them and smiled.

" _Whoops!_ Sorry guys! I can go if you're busy with something b-…

" Nope. Lucifer and I were just talking about…uh…about his family, _right_? ", the detective said, glancing at him.

" Sort of, yes. "

Ella nodded, seemingly pleased to know what they were talking about.

" Ah, _family_! We love and hate them all the same, huh? It's so difficult to live in a big family, you know? I don't even remember all my brothers and sisters names! Totally unbelievable! But, you know…not that easy to remember six names! ", talked all alone the young woman. " What about you, _big Luci-guy_ ? How many siblings? "

" Well, without Uriel… seventy-one. "

The two women stared at him, speechless, while Lucifer didn't understand their reaction. She asked him and he gave her the answer, that's all. There was nothing to be so surprised, especially for so little.

Before the forensic could top about her partner's words, Chloe took action.

" You said having news, Ella? "

" _Ow_ , right! "

She finally opened the file and took a particular paper from it, giving it to the detective.

" The lab send us the results for this strange material found in what was left of the bomb on the crime scene and this is not _sugar_ that killed our poor Martha! "

Lucifer approached his partner and read with her the results from the lab.

" _Turpentine_ ? ", they both read aloud.

Chloe lifted her head, frowning in intense reflection.

" Why add turpentine to a homemade bomb? What's the point? Half of the living room had gone up in smoke. "

" Exactly! ", said Ella. " The bomb alone was enough to kill our girl, _but_ it could never had done all this mess in her house. Way too small! "

" Then wha-? ", asked the detective. "Wait a second. The oil of turpentine… "

Ella nodded quickly, being all excited to enlighten Chloe and Lucifer about this.

" Oil of turpentine is highly flammable and so toxic; it could have leveled up our bomb here. You know, like _boum_ mixed with _fschouuuuuush_ ! "

" Right… ", said Lucifer, staring at the forensic.

" Could explain the living room burned to a cinder and the lack of evidence. ", deduced Chloe, turning to the glass board again. " Our suspect wanted to wipe away any details that could have lead us to him. He might not think of turpentine and-…Or maybe… "

" Maybe what? ", Lucifer asked her.

" I don't know. How someone so careful about details could have missed this? He should have known that the fire wouldn't totally burn turpentine, right? Unless-… "

" Unless our dear bomber wanted us to find it? ", helped Lucifer.

" Yeah, like a signature maybe. ", murmured the detective, looking at him, pensive.

She pinched her lips and turned to Ella who was still near her desk.

" What kind of turpentine is this? "

The forensic quickly flipped through the file in search of this data.

" It seems coming from some Canadian tree; _balsam tree._ ", she told them, reading another paper in the file.

Lucifer turned to the detective.

" Our victim had a half-brother, hadn't she? He said running a store specialized into Canadian stuffs, I think. Sounds guilty enough for me, Detective! What do you say? "

" Yeah. He studied chemistry at university; that's quite useful to make a bomb. I think he said he was working the entire morning when that happened. We should go talk to him again. Thanks, Ella! "

" No problem! ", said the young woman before leaving them, smiling again.

Chloe quickly put the files aside on her desk while searching for the half-brother's address. She put on her black jacket and moved her hair from the collar, then looking at her partner.

" We'll talk about all this later, okay? "

Without waiting for an answer, she went to the main staircase of the precinct. Lucifer let out a slight sigh as he fixed his gaze on his partner's silhouette, not so hurry to join her and thus short this tiny break she was giving him again.

" Later… ", he murmured at last as he walked away from Chloe's desk, worried that he would have face this _later_ much sooner than he would have liked.

Hopefully, this _boom-hunt_ would be much longer than expected.

He could still pray in this way, but – as everybody knew – that wasn't him at all.

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

I'm not an expert at all in turpentine, of course. I just did some research here and there, that's all. Sorry then if this explanation sounds totally unrealistic. ^^'

I've already written the third chapter in French, but I won't begin to translate it now. I want to finish to write the entire story in French first.

Sorry TT

I hope you'll like this new chapter, anyway and I thank you for reading me so far !

See you soon! :3


	3. Why do we fall?

**Author's notes:**

 _It's been a while, I know. Sorry sorry !_

 _Enjoy this new chapter (not beta-checked yet)._

* * *

 **WHY DO WE FALL?**

* * *

Chloe was clearly not used to the quiet silence around her.

Not a total silence, of course; horn blasts from other vehicles frequently resounded through the half-opened window, just like this very specific buzzing of life in every big city. There was a lot of noises and sounds outside, but none that really interested her. Her partner's deep voice was the sound she would have liked to hear now; his remarks about her private life, her wrong interpretation about the divine – not the divine she thought, it seemed – or even his annoying and yet oddly essential bawdy hints.

She tapped the wheel with her fingers while waiting for the traffic light to turn green and looked briefly at Lucifer's stubbornly quiet profile sitting beside her. The way he had put his right arm on the ledge of the open window with his hand that partially hid his mouth could seem trivial for anyone else, but not for the detective. He was watching the people walking on the streets, completely unaware of being watched too. Chloe knew him too well now to see only a common silence between them both just because they didn't know what to talk about or exhaustion. Something was bothering him.

And she might know what this was all about.

She kept looking at him, also pensive. Chloe felt a little bad to be the main reason of his anxiety. She wanted so much to know everything she had missed so far that she sometimes forgot to take Lucifer's feelings into consideration. They might both had gotten things straight when she had inadvertently found his wings in his closet, she was still having difficulty to get used to the idea that the world wasn't as _rational_ as she had thought.

Her partner was the Devil.

Amenadiel was an angel and Mazikeen a demon who had been created to torture human souls in Hell for all eternity.

Charlotte Richards had come back from the dead after that her body had momentarily been possessed by the Goddess of All Creation.

This goddess who was Lucifer's mother; his brother's and all the other angels.

As for their father… It was almighty God.

God existed for real and-

And Chloe was standing in the middle of this; mortal and insignificant.

Fortunately, talking about this with Linda had helped her a lot. Two insignificant mortal beings could understand each other in this supernatural situation, after all. The therapist had been very attentive to her fears or questions about life when Lucifer had been himself unable to deal with her existential crisis. And the detective didn't want him to see her like this and thus begin to doubt about their relationship. She didn't want him to understand this in the wrong way, as he often did.

She wasn't and would never be afraid of _him_.

In the middle of her unpredictable existence, it was something she would ever think otherwise.

She was just questioning everything.

Like… absolutely _everything!_

Dozens and dozens of questions had been constantly coming through her mind for weeks. Questions as relevant as terribly stupid and embarrassing to ask aloud.

Have the angels ever been kids before? Like human children; playing and doing stupid things while the parents didn't look around?

How was Lucifer when he was a kid? Did he have little wings? Like the wings of a dragonfly?

How far could she control her life if God was indeed omniscient and therefore had a total control on everyone and everything on Earth?

Did she have the right – as a simple human being – to kill other people for saving lives or hers? Did she have the right to send them to Hell earlier than it was planned?

Would she end up in Hell?

And what about Daniel? Trixie?

Where was her dad? Was he in Hell or Heaven?

And what about _Hitler?!_

She had so many questions in mind and couldn't ask them all to Lucifer because he couldn't understand them all. Linda could and had been able to help her with this. She had helped her to redefine reasonable limits about her control on her life and her decisions. As the therapist had knowingly decided to keep talking to her partner, Chloe had knowingly chosen to stay that night.

She could have control on some things.

As for the rest…

There was nothing she could do about it. She had to deal with it.

Yes, Chloe had felt pretty lost for a while. Back then, she hadn't taken much interest about others. She was questioning Lucifer about his life without thinking about how this change might have affected him. Devil or not, that was a great change in his life. He might have other questions in mind; not about the universe and all that, but about her… about _them_. They were trying to continue as if it didn't matter and change anything, but it did anyway.

She _knew._

 _Knowing_ changed everything.

 _Knowing_ opened other doors that Lucifer didn't seem to agree to unlock for her.

A door in particular.

A subject they avoided for weeks and that Chloe finally felt ready to open. She knew; she wanted to know _more_ now.

Why was he mortal near her? Why did it seem so difficult to explain?

She could still see the tension that had appeared in his whole body and eyes when she asked why. Him asking to no going further that night. Was the truth that terrible? Maybe not. Maybe he was just too anxious about it and gave that bad feeling?

Maybe.

Anyway, Chloe couldn't force him to tell her the truth when he clearly didn't seem ready for it.

She just wished he did, that he trusted her.

Still leaning against the window, Lucifer finally looked away from the crowded streets and met the detective's eyes. He lowered his hand to his chin, rubbing his fingers while staring at her.

"What?"

The traffic lights were green again and she slightly shook her head, focusing on the road.

"Nothing.", she said, smiling. "It's just-… unusual to see you that _quiet._ I must remember this moment. For posterity, you know?"

"Very funny, Detective! If I can help future generations, I guess it's for the best…"

Chloe laughed and, first hesitant, tried again to approach this _locked door_.

"You look worried.", she said.

Lucifer shrugged, avoiding again to meet her gaze as he looked out the window.

"It's nothing."

A clear and short answer that didn't discourage the young woman.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, really. You should look the road, Detective. I'm not sure the LAPD would see a car accident as good publicity.", he joked.

"Is this all about our talk at the precinct?", she easily guessed, her assumption immediately confirmed by the tension in her partner's posture.

He tried again to elude Chloe's relevant comment;

"Absolutely not, Detective. I-"

"Because there's nothing to worry about.", she interrupted him with a reassuring smile. "You can talk to me, okay?"

Lucifer looked at her for a long time, his doubts appearing on his features. He was about to say something when the detective's cellphone made them both jump with its loud ringing inside the car. Chloe turned on the loudspeaker, disappointed to be stopped so close to her goal, and cleared her throat to be heard over the road noises.

"Decker."

" _Hey, Clo. You found our guy?"_ , asked Daniel straight away.

"Hi, Dan. He wasn't difficult to find; this shop means so much to him. That's what he said.", she answered, turning left and leaving the crowded streets of Los Angeles behind.

Lucifer didn't say anything, although he would have before, and absent-mindedly listened to the two detectives sharing their information.

"He has a good alibi.", the young woman kept talking. "Half of his employees confirmed he was there when the shop opened on Wednesday morning. He even had a minor accident with a customer at the time of his sister's death; everything's saved on the security cameras."

" _So... We're finding ourselves at square point one again. Too bad."_

"Not necessarily. He recently fired one of his employees for theft and aggressive conduct towards the customers and the staff. The last two months, every person arguing with him had seen their car explode the next days."

" _You think t-"_

Chloe slightly nodded.

"I Found this weird that our suspect willingly leaves behind him a huge evidence like turpentine; a very specific one. Maybe he tried to take revenge on his former boss?", the detective assumed.

" _Could be that, yeah."_ said her ex-husband. _"What's his name?"_

"Ian Coleman. Jameson gave us his last address; he's leaving to the north of L.A. 'Won't be long to find out if he's our guy."

Silence briefly filled the other end of the line until Daniel spoke again;

" _Chloe… You're not gonna arrest him on your own, are you?"_

"I'm not; my partner's coming with me.", she replied, smiling to her partner.

" _Well, that's a relief! Nothing bad will never happen to you with Lucifer around, obviously…"_

Then, Lucifer stuck his nose in the chat, desiring to defend his valuable place in their partnership, whatever Daniel might think of it.

"I'm so glad you have faith in me, Daniel!"

" _I'm just saying that you should be careful here. This guy is pretty good to make bombs and I don't want to see you both killed in an explosion, okay? I'm gonna warn Pierce and prepare a team and you, you wait-"_

"He'll run away if he sees us coming with the entire mine-clearing squad!", Chloe interrupted him. "We can't take that risk. Lucifer and I have a chance to stop him before anyone else gets hurt or killed, okay? We'll be careful."

She could almost see Daniel hesitate near his desk while another silence followed her last confident words. More or less confident… but this, Daniel didn't have to know.

" _Fine. But-... Don't be reckless, Chloe, uh?"_

"I won't, I promise.", she reassured him. "I'll call you later. Bye."

And she hung up.

"The Detective _Douche_ doesn't seem as worried for me as he is for you, Detective.", Lucifer noticed after that, sighing annoyingly. "I should be upset about it, shouldn't I?"

"I'm sure he is."

"Lying is a sin.", he told her with a smile as he closed his window. "He's right, you know?"

"About what?"

"You're not the type to rush headlong to apprehend a suspect; it's mine. Not that I do not approve this sudden change, but still… It's reckless."

The young woman looked deeply confused by his speech, staring at him for a long time and then exclaimed in a falsely surprised tone;

"It can't be, I'm dreaming, for sure… Lucifer, the Devil… who's careful?!"

Lucifer gave her a disgruntled look, hiding under it his discomfort. He shrugged and looked through the windshield.

"I'm always careful with your life, Detective.", he said then, not looking at her directly.

Chloe didn't find anything to reply, really touched by his sincere concern that seemed to change his tenacious habits to "first, hit the bad guy; then, ask questions...eventually".

It looked like their role were reversed, for once. She, the death-defying partner; and him, the reason itself. There was a risk; that was true, she couldn't deny it. A bomber, two partners with only one armed with a gun and badge… The ratio of power was certainly not attractive here.

But Lucifer wasn't like anyone else.

He was the Devil.

This guardian-Devil watching her back for two years, wings or not in the equation. He wasn't totally invulnerable, from what she understood that night, but she was still convinced that nothing serious would ever happen to them as long as they trusted each other.

And she does.

"What a bomber like Coleman could do against the Devil himself, hm?", she replied then. "Everything will be fine."

"I hope so, Detective. I hope so…"

She couldn't say if he was referring to their suspect or their next talk about hellish-divine stuff.

Probably both.

 **-xXx-**

* * *

Chloe and Lucifer entered the building, both on their guards.

Jameson had specified that the place of the suspect wasn't really well-appointed, neither welcoming; probably like its tenant.

But the detective clearly hadn't expected this.

Nobody around; nor in the streets nearby or inside this hall. The walls were cracked and covered with some things that Chloe didn't want to know anything about it. She slightly jumped as she heard a noise near the door and grimaced in disgust when she saw a big rat bolting without further ado.

"Well, well, well! Welcome to the landfill of L.A., Detective!", Lucifer exclaimed, carefully moving with his shoe a can before him.

"It looks like nobody has lived here for ten years or so…"

"Rather ages, if you ask me. What are these?", Lucifer asked, leaning over. "Cockroaches… Lovely creatures!"

Chloe approached the mailboxes and passed Lucifer who was watching with interest the cockroaches wiggling on the ground and climbing along the wall. She searched the name of their suspect, looking every mailbox covered with spider web.

"It's here.", she said, Lucifer turning to her. "He lives on the top floor."

"Are you up for an elevator trip, Detective?", proposed her partner, pointing to the elevator a little further down the hall.

"Is this thing still working?"

Lucifer approached the _thing_ and pushed the button, carefully stepping back after that, which amused her. They waited and then heard the characteristic noise warning the opening of the doors. The elevator looked in pretty good condition. It was so clean inside that it clashed with the rest of the building. Chloe looked the inside of the elevator for a long time, not moving yet. Lucifer didn't either.

No electric wires coming out from the walls, no strange grating or fluctuating lightnings.

Everything seemed good.

Lucifer shrugged and walked to the elevator, Chloe still hesitant to do so.

The staircase was right there and much safer than this ascent in this deserted building. Safer. And much longer. Coleman might hear them arrive before they even reach the top floor and he would run away.

By using the elevator, they could have a head start on him. Not much, but just enough to hope to catch him.

"Didn't you want to live on the edge for once? Come here!", said Lucifer with a grin.

"As long as you well-behave…", she warned him before coming inside, the doors closing after.

Lucifer pushed the button for the top floor and Chloe looked up the left top corner of the cabin, intrigued to see a security camera there.

Who could have placed it in this elevator without taking care of the rest of the building?

" _That's strange…"_

"Carnal games in an elevator are certainly enjoyable, but not my favorite, Detective.", replied Lucifer. "But this is still a wonderful way to take anyone to seventh heaven!"

"I'm sure it is."

He turned to her and his smile widened on his face, Chloe sensing a lot of inappropriate questions coming right away in his mind.

"Did I hear straight? The amazing Detective Decker - The Hot Tub's Queen - has never lived the delightful ascent of desire? I cannot believe this!"

"I do-"

A sudden jolt stopped her and she lost her balance, Lucifer catching hold of her arm to prevent her from the fall. The jolt stopped as fast as it had appeared, silence filling the space around.

"What was that?", the detective asked, looking around, worried.

Lucifer let go of her and approached the control panel, pushing a button a first time, then several times with no significant result.

"The elevator has stopped. Nothing's working, apparently."

"Can you open the doors?", Chloe asked him.

Then another voice rose in the cabin, answering for Lucifer;

" _ **I wouldn't do that if I were you."**_

Chloe stepped back in the middle of the cabin, looking all around her, Lucifer acting the same.

"Who's this? Coleman? Is that you?"

" _ **You're a good detective."**_ , he answered to her. _**"I'm surprised you came here without back-up. That's pretty hazardous."**_

She looked up and see the camera again, which - unlike earlier - seemed turning on, slightly moving with each of their movements.

"Dealing with an insignificant cockroach is not hazardous, not to me.", Lucifer replied with a smirk. "Why even use bombs while you could rather use your hands to punish someone? Tiny tips, I guess?"

She knew Lucifer; she knew what he was trying to do here. As long as Ian was talking, they still have time to find a way-out to this. And the Devil seemed naturally gifted to make people talk even in the worst situations.

Like here, by putting in doubt Ian's virility.

She came closer to Lucifer who was standing in front of the doors and disdainfully staring at the camera.

" _ **That's not the question. Why bother getting my hands dirty? Bombs are much more effective than any other weapon, won't you agree?"**_

"So, you do say you killed Mrs. Jameson?", tried the detective. _"Can you get us out of here?"_ , she whispered to Lucifer, being careful not to move her lips too much.

He barely shook his head, not looking at her.

" _He might have trapped the elevator… Our timing is too short to take that risk, Detective."_

" _We don't have other choice, do we?"_

" _ **I am not saying anything of that sort, Detective Decker. I'm just talking to you, knowing that nothing of it would never be heard by anyone else."**_

"Because you are planning to kill us, of course…", said Lucifer quietly, Chloe nevertheless feeling the tension inside his body.

" _ **Not me, no."**_ , replied Ian. _**"The bombs."**_

" _The_ bombs?", repeated Chloe, frowning.

As an answer happened an explosion outside the cabin, right under their feet; and a terrible jolt made Chloe fall on her knees. She cried of surprise, her eyes wide-opened with fear; smoke was already filling the space and hid Lucifer from her sight. It quickly became stifling, the young women coughing louder and louder, hearing again the bomber's threatening voice.

" _ **What did you say earlier, Mr. Morningstar? The elevator is a wonderful way to take anyone to seventh heaven, is that right? Well, maybe it's time for you both to come back down to earth."**_

"Son of a-", Lucifer swore from the other side of the cabin, the smoke making his voice hoarse.

" _ **The brakes have just exploded and the only thing that's keeping you alive is the main cable. But it won't last long, I'm afraid… "**_ , falsely complained Ian. _**"Ten seconds, at best."**_

With these words, Chloe saw the number ten appear on the screen above the closed doors. She immediately understood what was going to happen, horrified. She gave a frightened look at Lucifer who rushed to the doors, crying of rage.

" _ **Any final word to say?"**_

* * *

 **Author's notes;**

The next chapter as soon as possible.

Let a review if you liked it so far!


	4. Seventh basement

**Author's notes:**

Here it is! Sorry but I rushed to finish this translation and still no beta-checking so... Mistakes here obviously. Sorry about that.

Happy reading, anyway !

* * *

 **SEVENTH BASEMENT**

* * *

Chloe hated the rain.

She hated this steady dampness that was crashing on her skin, that was tirelessly following the curve of her cheek and, finally, that was sinking inside her ear.

She hated this.

She should have known that the weather forecast would be once more far from reality. This was not a "clear blue sky"; not to her.

If she had paid a bit more attention to this kind of detail, Chloe would never have thought to sleep outside with this endless rain that was tormenting her. Not that sleeping outside was really in her habits; that was rather occasional, if not an exception.

But then…

Why would she do this?

Another drop fell on her cheek and rolled higher than her tormented ear for once, teasing the back of her neck. Chloe shivered and slightly turned her head, her other cheek - the right one, spared until then by the rain - meeting a soft fabric beneath.

This was way beyond softness.

What was this?

It was undefinable, though. Softer than any fabric she knew and yet quite _stiff_ beneath her skin. How could it even be both?

The detective slightly moved her cheek, and the strange fabric started a bit against her, the sensation being echoed inside the rest of her body. She guessed then that this fabric was taller than she had thought in the first place. As big as a human body, at least.

Really really odd.

Some _moving_ blanket, perhaps?

A new drop fell on her temple and ran along the slight fold of her shut eyelid. That was just what Chloe needed to realize that it was not water at all.

Whatever it was, it was thicker than simple water.

Frowning, Chloe lifted her hand to her shut eyes to remove this liquid on her right eye. She tried not to think to the stinging pain that was burning inside her limbs, rubbing her face awkwardly for a few seconds before finally opening her eyes.

She first stared a long time at her fingers covered of a thin coat of oil; then she looked further up.

She wasn't outside, tormenting by rain.

She was far from it.

She looked at the electric wires hanging down the wall, the flickering light in the center of the smashed ceiling, its metal folded into a bumpy curve, supporting something heavy. Too heavy for it. She moved her neck in a way that let her see behind her, looking at the top of the elevator doors that were still closed.

 _The elevator._

Her breathing quickened as she started to remember the last events, her breath still trapped with the memory of a chilling fear.

God, they-

Coleman. The bombs and-

They fell.

Struggling to calm down, the detective blinked several times, her vision becoming blurry somehow, and she leaned on her forearm. She moaned when she felt a sharp pain growing inside her left temple and instantly moved her hand to her forehead. This oil was not the only liquid that had invaded her face, it seemed, given the large amount of blood on her palm.

She lowered her hand and was relieved to feel sensations in her whole body, numb and sore by the fall, of course; and yet still following her basic instructions - moving one of her toes, take a deep breath… She was doing well, given the situation.

How was that even possible?

This fall was-

It was…

Chloe jumped as she felt another jolt beneath her palm when she tried to straighten up a little. She looked down.

Feathers. A white wing as tall as she was.

" _What the h-?"_

Rudely whipping the blood that was still running along her chin with the back of her hand, the young woman followed with her gaze the end of it, stuck beneath her, to its source. She turned a little bit to her right and let out an horrified exclamation. The source was not far from her - not inside this narrow cabin - and was still on the ground. It was not its stillness that upset Chloe, but rather the state of this unknown source. The wing stuck beneath her butt was pretty getting off lightly - only enduring her weight against its sensitive feathers. The other one, on the other hand, didn't have that luck - raised like this in Lucifer's back, into an odd and unnatural angle. The end of it was driven in the metallic wall behind. Her heart beating furiously inside her chest, Chloe followed with her eyes the huge gap along the entire length of the wall and the bloodstains on the ripped open metal; some glowing feathers were still hanging up by metallic splinters.

It was like a cat that would have stuck its claws on some wallpaper, ripping it off until touching the floor.

This stupid parallel was the only thing that came to the young woman's mind who was still in shock.

She looked at the wounded wing again, a shiver running all along her spine. A lot of blood was still flowing from its gashed end, falling on the floor right behind Lucifer and along the few unarmed feathers.

She gagged, her throat still hurting from her previous screams of fear. Chloe put her hand to her mouth, closing her eyes to try to calm down. Shaking from head to toe - both from disgust and shock - she took a deep breath and opened her eyes, instantly seeing her partner's huddled body.

"Lucifer…"

He didn't react, just his left wing beneath her that was jolting from time to time, like an instinctive move not depending on its owner's consciousness.

Chloe began to lean against the metallic wall and brutally pulled her hand away from it with a cry of pain. That was boiling hot.

Ho-?

The bombs. The explosion.

The deadly heat it had released was now spread through the elevator structure. She rubbed her palm reddened with blood and this unexpected burn, getting to her feet a second time. She had to be more careful. God only knew - and that wasn't just an expression - how the cabin was still intact. She leaned on the coldest parts, startling with the slightest snap above their heads or the rain of dust stinging her eyes. However, she didn't have to walk a lot to reach Lucifer, his face resting from a few inches to the doors wrapped by the burning heat outside.

She put her fingers against his neck, looking for a pulse. He hadn't moved since she awoke in this terrible chaos around, still and nevertheless tense - unable to escape pain; whether he's unconscious or not. He flinched when she touched him, frowning but not opening his eyes. Nor even moving a little bit.

He was alive; that was great and enough for her.

"Lucifer? Can you hear me?" tried the detective, shifting her hand to his cheek.

As only answer, he uttered a slight grunt of discomfort.

"Lucifer! Wake up, come on!"

Finally, after seconds that seemed last an eternity for Chloe, Lucifer's eyelids rose slowly to let her see his dark and disoriented eyes. He quickly shut them again, though; frowning more and expressing his discontent with another grunt.

"Lucifer?"

He stared at the doors before him with growing confusion and finally noticed her presence, Chloe kneeled next to him; turning his head to give her a smile. Not big enough to reassure her, but enough to make her smile in turn.

"You do _really_ like my name, Detective… That's flattering." he said, his voice barely audible beyond the snaps all around them.

"Are you alright?"

"I think so...I-"

Lucifer lifted his head to look around him. He instantly tensed and shut his eyes; the wing stuck in the wall had moved, too. Chloe wasn't a doctor specialized into celestial beings but she didn't have to be one to understand how much he was in pain right now.

"Rectification…" Lucifer told her then, his eyes still closed and his features tensed. "I do _**not**_ think so."

"Your wing is… It's stuck. Driven in the wall" said the young woman with a shaking voice.

He moved his neck toward the wall, frowning as he tried to remember why this was happening to him - just like she did for herself before.

"Right; I forgot this tiny detail. What about you, Detective? Are you alright?" her partner asked her.

"I'm fine. Just a pounding headache."

She paused, shaking her head and frowning.

"That's a miracle we're still in one piece."

"Speak for yourself."

"Sorry." she apologized with a sheepish smile while thinking. "Wait… What-What do you mean by _'I forgot'_?

He wanted to shrug, but then clenched his fists, struggling against pain once more. Each of his movements - were they light, even to breathe - was instantly followed by a tremor all around them and some instinctive spasms from his wounded wings.

That was clearly not a good sign.

"It's nothing. N-Nothing important, I assure you. I tried to use these _so need_ - _things_ in my back to slow down our fall and…-rotect you. At least have they been much more useful than the first time. And We are in one piece, as you said… Sort of."

Chloe looked in turn at her partner and the slashed celestial appendage; aghast by what she just heard. She could almost hear the flesh ripping and the metal yielding with a deafening crash; and this blood splashing-

"Oh God…"

"Oh, _come on_ , Detective!" Lucifer getting annoyed and rolling his eyes. "Could you not bring **H** im up while I'm bloody stuck like this, please? **H** e surely must exult on **H** is spangled throne by seeing me using _them_ anyway…"

Whether he was trying to distract her or not from the real problem, it worked.

" _Spangled throne?_ Really?"

"If you only knew…" said her partner with an amused smile, then letting out another groan of pain and clenching his fists.

She stopped thinking about that throne and focused on him when she heard this barely contained pain. She looked at him; his face, his sweaty temple, white-faced and the regular pain along his lips… He, who was so much in pain, and she who-

They had fallen from so high and this explosion-

If Lucifer hadn't been here, her headache and sore muscles wouldn't be the only things she had to worry about.

"You really must stop doing that…" Chloe whispered, shaking her head, Lucifer asking her;

"Stop doing what?"

"Saving my life at the risk of yours."

" _Ow._ Well...My apologies, Detective. It's- quite instinctive, you know." he told her, trying to smile to her but he didn't succeed, pain getting the upper hand on him from second to second.

"Can't you make them disappear from that plan?" she asked him, showing his wings.

"Can't. I-pull it out first..."

Lucifer was noticeably growing pale and Chloe had no idea how she could help him. She noticed that the blood had been flowing from the wounds while since all the time they talked together, growing the red puddle on the ground. Chloe instinctively leaned back, afraid of just touching her partner's blood with one of her feet.

"What can I do?" she asked him, panicking. "I- I don't kno-"

Lucifer opened his eyes again and took her hand in his. She stared at him, his dark eyes gradually absorbing the panic fear she could no longer hold inside her. He gently squeezed her hand and smiled - ignoring the pain that was tormenting him.

"Everything is alright, Detective."

"Everything's alright.", she repeated without thinking, her eyes wide-opened. "Everything's alright…"

"Now…" Lucifer continued, pinching his lips with each syllable. "I need you to-... release my wing from the wall. Can you do this for me?"

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded, not breaking eye contact for a moment.

"Yes, I think I can."

"Lovely." he smiled and finally let go of her hand.

She nodded once again, almost immediately regretting that movement when she suddenly felt dizzy. She stumbled, half-kneeled near Lucifer, and held herself with one hand to the wall. She barely heard her partner calling her, keeping her eyes shut to contain this shooting pain from her left temple to the back of her neck.

Clenching her fist against the wall, the detective inhaled deeply, feeling nauseous like hell.

"Detective? Chloe?"

"I'm fine…" she murmured, opening her eyes slowly, fearing further discomfort by going faster than her injury would allow her. "I'm fine, Lucifer. Just- Feeling a bit dizzy…"

She waited; inhaling and exhaling slowly while a worried devil watched her doing so. She thought on the blood on her palm and the blood that was still running along her neck to her shoulder blades.

All things considered, she wasn't in one piece either.

She couldn't see the extent of her wound and feared to see it.

Another minute passed and Chloe straightened up slowly, using the wall in the process. She didn't feel nauseous this time and was relieved about it. She stepped over Lucifer's unwounded wing, who was quietly watching her.

She didn't like a quiet Lucifer, definitely not.

She leaned against the wall as much gashed as the wing was, the burning heat inside the metal had cooled enough so that it felt just strange against her skin.

Her yes lingered on the bloodstained end of the wing - that blood that looked as human as hers - and she stepped back, uncertain.

Chloe opened her mouth, her lips trembling, and stared at Lucifer.

He turned his head as best as he could to look her back; the shade of a smile on his waxy face.

"You can do this." he reassured her before she could say anything.

He began to blink and his breathing slowed; first signs of a state she wouldn't allow him to reach without trying something. She could do this.

She _**had to**_ do this.

She wouldn't let her partner bleed to death like that.

Nodding, the young woman approached her both hands near the part of it stuck in the rock outside the elevator, avoiding to touch the dislocated joint a little below. She looked at Lucifer again, still uncertain. It was not just an arm or leg to release from that wall without any more damage; she would have preferred this.

It was a wing.

An angel wing; as much beautiful as dangerous.

She had always wondered if the wings were just a common way for angels to move somewhere else, just like the walk was for human beings. Or if they were much more than that. It seemed so, judging by the sharp cut along the strong metallic wall of the elevator. From where she was standing, Chloe could now catch a glimpse of the chaos outside; the stone easily slice like butter, reinforced concrete cracked apart as far as she was able to see, higher than the elevator.

Those things were weapons.

An unpredictable weapon whose stillness totally depended on Lucifer's will who was already struggling against the welcoming doors of oblivion.

"I-will… not move…"

Chloe looked down at her partner. As exhausted as he was, she nevertheless saw that unbending will in his eyes, not being sure it was enough.

But he would never lie to her, would he?

And certainly not at the cost of her own safety. He was in pain because she came before everything else, even his own life… His pain.

She could trust this, trust him.

Lucifer was the Devil; he could endure this.

Inhaling deeply, the detective approached her hands from the end of the wing again. She placed one near the hole and the other a little above the dislocated joint, one last look at Lucifer.

" _One."_

" _Two…"_

Chloe tightened her grip around the wing and pulled it towards her with all her strengths. it didn't seem to move at first, but Chloe didn't stop pulling. Lucifer kept his word; he did not move an inch, stillness on the ground, clenching his fists.

Not a single move.

But, instead, a heartbreaking scream to which the detective nearly let go her grip.

A shower of blood splashed the top of his suit and most of his face; as the detective's who was still pulling. Fresh blood began to soak the feathers under her palms, running down her fingers and along her wrist.

She started to get weaker, losing her grip on it…

" _Come on..."_

" _Come on!"_

" _ **Come on!"**_

Then she heard a noise, followed with a slight shaking beneath her fingers.

Finally, a terrible snap - like a bone breaking under pressure - echoed to her pulling, the celestial appendage beginning to surrender. Taken by surprise, Chloe fell backwards with one last bloody shower. Lucifer arched his back, also taken by surprise with violent pain and screamed louder. The young woman hit the opposite wall of her right shoulder and cried when she saw the wing hit her in turn. Moving to her human throat, totally unable to survive to a divine assault.

That contact between this deadly divinity and her tender flesh never came, though.

Chloe stared blankly at the sharp feathers, suddenly stopped in its tracks, and almost tickling her glistening skin with sweat and blood.

Stopped by a nonstandard will.

Devilish, even.

She looked down and met Lucifer's unfocused eyes, shaking from head to toe - to the end of this vengeful wing - with this will contest.

His instinct against his will.

The wing shook a little bit and abruptly vanished with a breath of air sprinkled with blood beads.

And Lucifer dropped his head to the ground, panting and blank stare. Chloe jerkily filled her lungs with air, still in shock. Shaking from head to toe, she quickly kneeled beside her partner; calling him with deep concern in her voice.

"Lucifer? Hey…"

His eyes seemed looking through her, far beyond the borders of this reality, right in front of that oblivion she feared to see him reach.

"Lucifer?"

And he saw her. She knew it as soon as he began to smile at her; as soon as he tried to, at least. She could no longer see the slightest pain on his features, and it worried her even more than his brief absence. Chloe put her hand on his cheek, squeezing his hand with the other to bring him back to her.

His smile widened as his eyelids gradually fell on the glimmer of his eyes, his big relief.

"-old you so."

His voice was barely a whisper along her skin.

"What? Told me what?"

"A Devil… of my word."

His cheek weighted lightly against her palm and his eyes gave up for oblivion, Chloe started panicking and crying again the Devil's name. Cursing with equal ardor his **F** ather's.

* * *

 _ **TBC with...** _"Forgive me Father."

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Let a little review if you liked this story so far.

See you soon !


	5. Forgive me Father

**Author's notes:**

 _Just noticing now that I haven't published the chapter here, just on AO3 OO So so so sorry guys! At least, you'll have two chapters tonight!_

* * *

 **FORGIVE ME FATHER**

* * *

" _How you are fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!"_

–

Isaiah 14;12

* * *

That shooting pain between his shoulder blades was the first thing he felt.

Like his heart decided to move to his back and beat there more frantically than it ever did before.

 _Such an odd feeling…_

He knew for sure that a moving organ was quite unusual, not a normal thing at all. For himself and for anyone else.

The rest of his body was heavy – like lead -, he couldn't even move his fingers against that cold floor that seemed to be his bed until now. And even if he could, he didn't want to endure this pain in the rest of his body while it was just tormenting a tiny area so far.

One pleasure at a time, right?

Not that he was following this restrictive reasoning for other activities.

The limbo seemed to want to keep him with it and he didn't mind, emerging from time to time and only when the pain was unbearable – digging into his flesh and burning his nerve endings. Always further, always stronger. He felt curious to discover what was causing this torment, but the thought didn't last long in his mind. A light breeze of lucidity taken away by a strong wave of sensations.

He wasn't sleeping. Not awake either.

That felt… strange.

How could he feel and yet not totally… _feel?_

It was-

Then came a sudden change in his muddled sensations. A sudden increase of pain between his shoulder blades. It couldn't come from him; he couldn't move. And as powerful as it was, the Limbo couldn't either. It was something else.

He felt that other thing slipping, briefly touching a spot of his, where his right shoulder should be.

And then came a moan that replaced his fierce will and filled the quiet space all around him.

" _Bloody Hell…"_

"Lucifer?"

Did he think out loud?

Maybe.

The dark Limbo faded almost obediently around him, strongly increasing the pain as much as his sensations that were previously muffled. He could now feel the touch of the fabric under his cheek, the cold metal beneath him, and that hand – not his – that was stroking his cheek.

"Lucifer?"

" _Chloe?"_

Was that really her?

"Yes, it's me; I'm right here."

He had thought out loud, there was no doubt now.

"Can you open your eyes?" Chloe asked, her hand running down his cheek again.

Well… That was tricky.

Touching him like this to support her request and do whatever she wanted with him… She had a gift for that. Such a little devil on her own.

Opening his eyes was much less painful than what he feared.

It was just… exhausting.

Lucifer blinked, having some difficulties to see clearly at first. He looked what was right before him, still stunned.

Was that-… knees?

Slowly, the Devil looked up, running his feverish gaze along a crinkled sky-blue skirt that was covered of dried blood. Lucifer frowned, wondering from where that amount of blood could come.

Was somebody hurt? Was he?

The hand on his cheek ran its fingers across the line of his chin, leading his eyes even higher; to a known face.

 _Chloe._

"Hey.", she only said with a smile.

"Hey."

He frowned again, not liking at all the obvious weakness in his voice. Why was he feeling that way? So much weak, on a physical level? Even if Chloe was here with him, it wasn't enough to explain his actual state. Lucifer tried to focus, annoyed when he noticed that he couldn't gather his thoughts properly. Was that typically _human_ not to be able to remember a few things preceding the darkness?

What he knew came down to a few things, too; he was lying on his side – and not in a bed -, the detective had a large amount of blood on her clothes and his own jacket had been used to support his head, like a pillow.

He couldn't say which of those worried him the most.

"What did I miss?" he managed to ask right after moistening his lips.

Not much, he guessed.

Still the same elevator car with its dented ceiling and tons of concrete above, and this blood…

Right, he remembered now; it was _his_. His blood that was making a nearly perfect circle on the ground in front of him, behind the detective.

Wasn't that where he was before? Maybe… Everything was still fuzzy in his mind.

His gaze lingered on the big gap in the wall.

Then he remembered.

The fall.

 **-xXx-**

* * *

" _ **Chloe!"**_

" _ **Lucifer!"**_

 _His nails scratch the metal, trying to hold on to it with all his strength._

 _It's stupid._

 _That will not save them._

 _They are falling._

 _Fast._

 _Too fast._

 _A strong bump against the wall outside and he is thrown forward. His right side hits the doors and he falls face down on the ground, stopping to breathe with the impact. Something warm runs down his chin. Something tasting like iron on his tongue._

 _He can't breathe; his lungs obstructed by so many things; pain, fear, adrenaline… He opens his mouth, the air refuses to go into his throat; it is devoured by sparkles, the speed of their fall. And that pain that keeps digging into his chest…_

 _The metal squeals along the wall outside without slowing down their fall._

 _He hears her screaming. Close to him, scared to death._

 _Lucifer tries to get up._

 _Difficult. Very difficult…_

 _There is not much time left._

 _He's looking for her; beyond smoke and stifling sparkles._

 _He sees her in front of him and dives forward on the spur of the moment, helped by another strong bump of the elevator car against the concrete walls. A deadly corridor to which he will not giving up. He dives to her and grabs her, muffling her cry against his shirt. His shoulder violently hits the wall and he winces in pain._

 _Just a few seconds left before-…_

 _Lucifer has no more time to think. He holds Chloe tightly against him…_

 _And spreads out his wings._

 **-xXx-**

* * *

Chloe brought him back to the present moment, far from his wings and still so close to the pain they were putting himself to.

"Not much.", she confirmed. "As you can see, we're still stuck under tons of debris."

"Great… I thought I missed the show."

He then noticed the piece of fabric basically wrapped around his partner's head.

"You've been hurt."

"Mmh? Ow, this? It's nothing.", she said, moving her hand to her temple; where the fabric had turned dark with blood. "Nothing serious, really."

He lifted his head a little bit, hardly gulping.

He was so thirsty…

"How long have I been-…?"

"A while.", answered Chloe. "It's probably the price to pay for saving my life at the risk of yours!"

Lucifer laughed; he tried to, quickly groaning his discomfort before replying;

"Have you ever heard that the Devil is free of his own moves, no matter what?"

"Sounds familiar, yeah."

She looked at him, her brow furrowed with concern.

"How are you feeling?"

He barely stopped himself to shrug, being cautious, and just smiled to her. It wanted to be comforting, when the situation was not.

"Like I've had rough sex with every hordes of Hell at the same time… Need more details, Detective?"

"Bawdy comments, inappropriate talk… It bodes well, isn't it?"

He didn't refute.

What was the point of worrying her more than she already did?

Lucifer turned his head to the ceiling instead – moving as much as the pain allowed him – and looked at the damage. Judging by the rain of dust that was falling beneath the metal, Coleman's bombs had done a great job here. The structure of the building had been weakened over time and any maintenance; which had collapsed for good right after the deflagration. This narrow elevator car was what seemed to be the safer place in the building.

Wonderful.

"Speaking of… What about _'help's on the way'_ and all that?"

"I dunno.", the detective confessed, and she got up.

She sat near him, sighing.

"Coleman did a great job with his little bombs; they'll need time to get us out of here… If help knows where to look. Dan could track down my car, but-"

"But we can't contact them to speed up, can we?"

How long would it take to this known douche to raise the alarm? Lucifer was tempted to bet for a few days at best, instead of a few hours. He sighed in turn and closed his eyes; it couldn't become that bad, could it?

"We can't. My phone is dead and yours stayed in the car. I'm not sure it'll be useful, though.", she told him, shaking her head. "With those tons of concrete that felt above our heads… Not a chance to find any signal from here."

"It seems we are stuck."

Chloe nodded.

"It seems so.", she said. "And it's all my fault.'

"Your fault?"

Lucifer moved his head, puzzled, putting aside the stabbing pain in his back to stare at the detective's tormented profile right above him.

She stretched her legs before her as much as she could, avoiding to plunge her heels on her partner's blood and she shook her head again, her features marked by guilt, which he did his best to understand. Not succeeding, though.

"I should have listened to Dan. I should have listened to you and wait for backup before-… And now, you're-… We're-…

She didn't finish her sentence, nibbling her lower lip.

"This is my fault."

Sighing when he heard that most ludicrous guilt trip, Lucifer began to sit up. Chloe noticed it and complained about it quickly.

"Lucifer, what the hell are you thinking you're doing?! Stay lying down!"

Disregarding her complains, he leaned on his arms and groaned as soon as he moved away his chest from the ground.

 _Bloody Hell_ … It hurt like hell, indeed.

Not enough to stop him, though. He was the Devil. This kind of torment… He could manage. What he couldn't manage was that guilt on his partner's face. He finally managed, after many groans and thanks to his strong will, to sit down and carefully press his back against the wall.

Such devious pain…

But tolerable.

"Lucifer-"

He took a deep breath – mouth closed – to dispel the dizziness that was seizing him and moved his arm to Chloe. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her towards his; she fought it a little bit before closing the gap between them without saying a word. She hesitated, then pressing her cheek against his chest; like he did before. Lucifer winced, the gap between his shoulder blades widening until it reached his hairline.

He shut his eyes and stroke her shoulder.

"Unless your name is Coleman and that you enjoy turpentine on bombs too much, I can't be agreed with you, Detective.", he said. "This is not your fault. It goes with the job, that's all. All we have to do is wait for help… Daniel won't be long to save us."

Chloe lifted her head and Lucifer opened his eyes to look at her.

"Are you trying to comfort me or your faith in Dan is much stronger than I thought?"

He smiled.

"I do not lie, remember?" he replied.

It made her laugh a bit and he could imagine her rolling her eyes. Neither of them released the other, finding in this simple embrace a peace they were desperately looking for while waiting for help. Lucifer didn't even realize that his eyes were shut again, focusing on that touch and the pleasant feeling it was giving him; this paced breathing against his chest and this cheek pressed against his heart… He could have stayed like this forever and never comply about it.

"It could take a while.", Chloe sighed.

"I'd be glad to do some funny things with you, dear, but I'm afraid I'm not feeling well enough for that.", Lucifer joked, keeping his eyes shut.

"That's not what I had in mind."

"Ow. What a shame…"

"I thought we could… talk.", then said the detective.

Lucifer opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Talk?"

She nodded, not telling much. He didn't need this to guess where the talk might lead them both, anyway.

He hardly gulped.

"Well… If that's what you want, but… Do you have a specific topic in mind?"

"Maybe I do."

He waited, feeling in her eyes that desire of truth. This very specific curiosity for a very specific topic. She wanted the truth; he couldn't blame her for that. He just thought… telling her everything somewhere else than a stifling elevator car.

This place wasn't his first choice.

Definitely not.

"Seventy-one brothers and sisters, uh?", the detective asked him with a knowing smile.

Lucifer laughed softly, as surprised as relieved.

He knew, however, that his profuse celestial siblings didn't interest her that much to ask; not as much as the eternal question he refused to give an answer.

She was giving in.

At least for now.

"Forty-eight brothers and twenty-three sisters, to be exact. I'd be more than pleased to tell you each of their names, but I doubt it's the best way for us to stay awake while waiting for help."

"You make a point.", said his partner. "What about this throne, then?"

"Careful now, Detective.", he warned her. "Making fun of God, this is not sound."

" _Said_ the Devil sit right next to me.", she replied. "So… your **F** ather has a spangled throne? For real?"

Lucifer shrugged and held back a slight grunt of discomfort.

He was right from the start - no matter what Linda or even Chloe could say about it, both careful and full of hope -, his wings were a curse; not a blessing. Although they were now gone from this reality, the Devil could still feel them. The friction of the feathers on his skin, the skinned bone against his spine and the blood that was still flowing along it - out of time and space, but still there. Sticky, warm… while the rest of his body was not.

That was interesting.

Troubling, but nevertheless interesting.

Lucifer had never been cold in his life.

No more during his first years of existence than during his decline.

Angels didn't feel cooler temperatures as humans did for millennia. Their metabolism being much stronger than theirs, they could get used to anything - even a change of temperature.

So it was with celestial lineage.

He held a shiver back, fascinated by this all new sensation.

Why was he cold?

Maybe it had something to do with his wings. Yes, that was possible. He could not be absolutely sure of this, though. Lucifer had always taken great care of his appendages, even during Rebellion. Truth be told, those ones were not easily damaged; whether he's been fighting one of his many siblings or not.

He frowned.

Not a chance of damage with his siblings, but… as far as a living miracle was concerned…

He was vulnerable near the detective, _completely_ vulnerable.

Speaking of curse…

The longer he stayed with Chloe, the more his wings would take time to recover. He just hoped that Daniel would find them before he lost his very last drop of blood. Out of this reality, of course.

He focused on the detective again, not seeing the point to share that information with her. There was none. She would go crazy with worry, for sure; and as always.

"You might think it is when you look at it; billions of glittering flakes, all frozen into a single rock for a single being."

"No true divine flakes, then? That's disappointing." Chloe teased him.

"Sorry, but no."

"If that so… What's inside the rock?"

Lucifer didn't answer right away, lost in thought. Thoughts miles away from this elevator car, far away from this fragile planet. Far, in the outer limits of skies; in a very specific city with equally special people. That huge hall whose had only been built to be forever singing a **S** elfish **B** astard's praises.

" _A throne? Why?"_

" _We aren't supposed to question_ _ **H**_ _is_ _ **O**_ _rders."_

" _What about_ _ **H**_ _is_ _ **S**_ _anity, then?_ _ **H**_ _e doesn't even have a physical form; so what's the point?"_

" _Samael-…"_

" _I am not supposed to question_ _ **H**_ _is_ _ **O**_ _rders. Like I didn't know…"_

A smile appeared on his lips; it was not one of those smug or tempting grins that made his reputation. That one was soft, so soft that it almost looked like it didn't even exist.

"Stars.", he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"Stars? But how-?"

"Remember who I am, Detective. Well… who I _used_ to be, back then."

He felt more than he saw her lift her head to stare at his face.

"You were known as the… hum… the Lightbringer, is that it? The one who enlightened the skies after God asked him so, from what I heard."

"From what it _was_ , if you asked me. All true, Detective. I did enlighten the entire universe and far more than that."

"Wow…" she exclaimed, sounding marveled. "I'm sitting right next to the angel who created the Sun…" she said then lower, stunned.

" _Fallen_ angel."

"And you placed stars into your **F** ather's throne.", continued Chloe, not seeming to listen to him, sounding even more awe-struck than before.

"It was more complicated than that, but yes, we could say it that way. **H** e wanted a throne. Why? 'Don't know and never asked, but **H** e got what **H** e wanted. It took me ages to create each star… I could have done something else of my time, something clever!"

"I guess so. What did it look like? Is it still there? I mean… in Heaven?"

"My **F** ather would never have destroyed my skill, Detective; even after my terrible Rebellion. It was perfect and will forever be; **H** e knew it. Then yes, I do think that the throne is still there, sparkling with pure Light and according to this **I** mmaterial **D** ouche's mood."

"What do you mean by that… _according to the mood_?"

Lucifer didn't answer, his attention unwittingly caught by the pain in his back. Not just there, now. That was strange, the way how the pain ran everywhere after a time while his back was the only injured part of his body. And now, he had to endure this sharp tip along his right side. He could feel it move under his skin, right beneath his ribs with each of his new attempt of breathing. He tried to shift a bit without disturbing Chloe or arouse more physical discomfort inside him, slowly exhaling while he couldn't get rid of this pressure in his side.

"Stars are an extent of Divine power, vessels for The Very First Light; God… and Mother, of course. Thus, they reflected some sort of luminous version of what **H** is emotions could be at the time. In the entire hall. That was quite a show to see… For anyone else than me.", he said, just in case that Chloe misunderstood him.

"Like those rings you can buy on the beach."

"Looks like it, yes."

"How was it? Was it dark for anger or-…?" she tried to guess by herself, intrigued by that kind of Light.

"It wasn't dark, no. White."

"White?"

"A bright, fierce light." Lucifer told her, tensed. "Searing like the Fires of Hell will ever be, freezing like your earthly poles will ever be. It engulfed absolutely everything in its way."

A shiver grazed his spine and he closed his free hand into a fist to keep some control on himself, on his thoughts, his memories. He didn't notice right away that Chloe hadn't talk since he did. He looked down and met her eyes that were filled with pity and concern - he despised that. He managed to smile, trying to talk in a lighter tone;

"It hadn't been easy to see the world again after my fall! Not into the stifling darkness of Hell, moreover…"

His **F** ather's blinding wrath was not the only responsible for this, though. Hell hadn't the endless light of heavens, nor of Silver City's. It was a dark place; not a star to guide him through it, to comfort him or even heal his countless wounds and burns. A dead land that had been eager to eat him like everything else. It had taken him quite a long time to see again and more than that to adjust his sight to this endless night around him.

Hell had been a great opportunity, in a way. A chance – bound to happen, yes – to push himself and take knowledge of what he was truly capable of to survive. Thousands of eviscerated monsters, all killed from his hands – their putrescent blood that had run along his skin for decades – could testify that.

Going through millennia, he had even found since some comfort into the eternal darkness. Some peace that was fed by it; in so many ways.

The detective saw through him, however. She kept looking at him. Pressing her cheek against his heart, Lucifer knew what her next question would be way before she even dared to ask him.

"How was it?"

"How was what, Detective?"

"Your fall."

Lucifer took a deep breath, flinching as he felt the pain bit his back.

"This isn't something funny to tell.", he tried to dodge. "Why wouldn't I tell you about Amenadiel and his brutal encounter with a flock of birds?"

His eyes met hers, Chloe not interested by his proposition, funnier than what she wanted to hear from him. She didn't insist, though; smiling at him warmly. She shrugged.

"Whatever suits you.", she gave in without further explanation.

He didn't know if it was that docile and sympathetic renunciation, or that smile that had appeared on her tired face; that was responsible for what was going to follow. Exhaustion could be the one and only thing to blame here. Still, Lucifer didn't talk about the angry birds and his brother's shame.

His next words were completely different.

"I thought it all the way through… All the way through. I thought things would calm down on their own. It wasn't the first fight we had, **H** e and I; nor the last. It looked like the only way to really talk to **H** im, you know? This hasn't changed, I supposed. The only way apart from orders and vital missions. Fighting was always preferable to this cold silence from **H** is side. Well, that's what I thought at the time."

Lucifer was looking straight ahead.

"It was just another quarrel, just another one. But… It soon appeared that I had stepped over the line this time. Everyone was standing there, all gathered into a round stoicism, all of them gathered around the… _traitor_ I was. Not a son, not a brother; a traitor. All brothers, all sisters of mine… my Mother; every one of them stoic around me. Not a single one even flinched or showed some compassion when they all saw me fall. Not a single one…" Lucifer whispered, then letting out a resentful exclamation.

Amenadiel, Michael, Uriel, Sachiel…

He could still see their impassive face as clearly as the wall in front of him.

" _Mother! Mom, please!"_

"…"

" _Do as I say, Michael! Take him now, Son."_

" _Michael, come on! Th-This is insane!"_

"…"

" _Michael! Don't!"_

"And what about your wings?"

Lucifer jumped when he heard Chloe's question, leaving behind this former pain to welcome another.

"Excuse me?"

"Your wings. You still had them when you fell, didn't you? Could they not act against it?"

"I'd liked that but unfortunately not, Detective. It wasn't a common fall ruled by some gravity and dexterity of mine. My fall was quite different.", he explained to her after clearing his throat. "My **F** ather has turned against me the power **H** e gave me before."

"You're talking about that divine light, right?"

"Precisely. I met every star I created that day; not in a fun way. I never feared their heat before; why would I? They were part of me."

He sighed, ignoring the tip hitting his side, and squeezed the detective's shoulder harder. He rubbed his free hand against his pants, lost in thought. Then, his eyes met the big red mark at the other end of the elevator car. A hue that had followed him for centuries, and even longer than that.

Until a few weeks ago.

"Once arrived in Hell, I was… someone else. I could no longer see, but I could feel the difference inside my body. Everywhere, actually. It was far deeper than a simple physical form. The stars, this Light hadn't just burned my flesh… It had burned any physical and spiritual connection to home – what I thought being home, should I say. And for what? Bloody free will! _Tch!_ "

He shook his head gently.

"I couldn't go back there even if I wanted to. I could no longer hear their voices, the familiar sounds from the Silver City… I was all alone. For the very first time of my really long life. It was really strange to experiment.", he said, frowning.

A moment passed with none of them speaking; Lucifer thinking back to that heavy silence that had met his cries of rage and despair into complete darkness. Wondering how humans could enjoy solitude, and even look for it.

They were so strange for so many things.

Chloe broke the silence between them again.

"These burns… You did try to show them to me; in the lab."

"I couldn't have said it better, Detective. Things hadn't gone as I planned. You should have seen my real face, but it vanished somehow and I didn't know at the time."

He slightly laughed.

"How curious is this… You see, I can't recall since when I hoped for getting rid of this face and now that it's done, I-…I feel… I feel _empty_. Like I've lost something truly valuable to me. Strange, don't you think?"

His wings made their apparition, instead. Well… not really. With or without them, Lucifer was still feeling empty inside; these heavy things worsened the sensation at best.

"I'm sorry.", the detective suddenly apologized.

"Sorry? What for?" asked Lucifer, puzzled.

He felt her slightly move away from his chest and saw her shaking her head, guided by an emotion he could not yet identify. She said she was sorry, but-

What for exactly?

"I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you.", she said, looking for his eyes. "And I-I just… send you packing. I am so sorry, Lucifer… Sorry that I didn't believe you that day, that I didn't even try to."

"How could you?" he tried to reassure her, quite disturbed by the intensity of her gaze. "It looked like another nonsensical metaphor to you; how could you kno-"

"That's it! You're not a liar, Lucifer. I know that, even before all… _this_.", she told him, pointing to his back.

"But I do not tell the whole truth.", he replied, repeating her own words – first his own, actually.

She stared at him and he smiled at her, his hand still resting on her shoulder.

"So… It seems we're both responsible for this disaster; won't you agree, Detective?"

She smiled in turn, laughing softly. She nodded and moved closer to him, willingly granting;

"It appears so, yeah."

Then, Chloe lifted her hand and ran her fingers over his cheek, Lucifer shuddering at her touch. He didn't protest, pressing his cheek against her palm without thinking. That felt nice. She was looking at him, looking at his face… and the one she could not see. That she never could.

"Can you describe it?"

"Hm?" he mumbled, lost into pleasant sensations given by his partner.

"Your face.", clarified Chloe.

" _Ow!_ Well… It's- It's quite the same that a burned face, I guess. In a more… infernal way. The skin is crazed in places, everywhere to be honest. It's feeling cold outside, but inside… Inside, there is this endless, suffocating heat. Like a lava flow right beneath your wounded skin; it defaces each of your nerves with noteworthy perseverance."

"Sounds terrible."

"You get used to it over time.", Lucifer toned down. "It's over, anyway."

She let her thumb run along his jaw, pensive. She then lowered her hand and leaned back comfortably against his chest; asking to him a few seconds later:

"How did it happen? How can it be gone like that?"

"I have no idea. Amenadiel does have an absurd theory about it, but-"

"Does he? Which one?"

Lucifer sighed, groaning soon after. He focused on his breathing, tensing a bit before the pain finally let him some space.

"God might have forgiven me for my faults, that's what he thinks. Forgiven Devil, forgiven face, it seems! And I don't even mention these bloody things in my back…"

"And you don't think that's all about forgiveness?"

He barely held back another resentful exclamation and glared at the ceiling.

" _Forgiven_ … Me? I just wanted to be free, Detective. There's no point to forgive that."

He felt her shrug, then assuming;

"Could be something else, y'know?"

"Can't wait to hear it…" whispered Lucifer, exhausted. "What could have possibly wanted my **F** ather by stealing my Devil face and giving my wings back?"

"Apologize."

"I beg your pardon?" he exclaimed, caught off guard.

"Could be, don't you think? Parents aren't perfect, Lucifer. They make mistakes, too. And maybe… maybe that your **F** ather feels bad about you and the way **H** e kicked you out of the house. You wanted to have free will, you said it yourself. So… Y'know the saying…", she finished. " _Better late than never._ "

Lucifer didn't know what he could answer to this. He was surprised to want to believe it. A desire that pierced through his chest, stronger than that sneaky tip ever did.

He did want to believe this. To turn this tiny possibility into absolute truth.

But this possibility was born from human naivety, from which Lucifer was very far away.

While he was so close to the truth, Chloe had only grazed its surface.

And maybe was it for the best.

There were some things about him it was preferable to keep in the dark.

Deep within Darkness.

* * *

 _ **Tbc with…**_ "Inherently divine"


	6. Inherently divine

**Author's notes:**

 _Here we go! Finally, another chapter._

 _Sorry for the waiting; doing my best but it's still not enough_

 _Still not beta-checked, but let's hope all the mistakes will disappear under your eyes ^^_

* * *

 **INHERENTLY DIVINE**

* * *

"Why just seventy-one?"

"Hmm ...? W'did y'say?"

Lucifer stirred slightly against her, pulled out of his sleepiness by her unexpected question. It had been a while since none of them had spoken; both slowly drained of their strength by their respective wounds and this never-ending wait. They had been sitting there for so long ... and the few breathable air contained in the elevator car was gradually declining, they couldn't do anything to stop it. They could only wait and stay quiet so as not to waste their chance of going out from here alive; both of them.

The words had come out of Chloe's mouth before she could hold them back.

Many things - some of them were pointless and others were more relevant, even disturbing - had crossed her mind since they were stuck here. Wait and think; that was her only options. Wait for help. She thought; _"Will they arrive_ _in time or ... Or will the air be gone first?",_ _"How many bits and pieces between us and the rescue team?_ ", _"What would Dan tell to Trixie?"_

The anxiety suffocating her more efficiently than this warm thin air, the detective had turned her thoughts towards a totally different direction. Better escaping the real life for a less conventional world. That was how she had come to think about Lucifer's words for no other purpose than turning her mind away from their frightful reality.

"At the precinct **...** You said you have seventy-one siblings. And before that, you said that someone was missing. 'Can't remember the name..." whispered Chloe, peeling her sweaty shirt off her skin.

She thought she had spoken too low to be heard - it might be possible after all, the stifling heat of the metallic room seemed to engulf everything, even her words - because Lucifer didn't react immediately. He was still against her shoulder, Chloe having preferred to release him from her embrace a few hours earlier so as not to bother him further. He hadn't talked much about his state and neither had she, already suspecting the worse. She was no sucker. Sitting shoulder against shoulder, Chloe moved her hand under his arm and placed his hand in hers. Without opening his eyes, Lucifer instinctively tightened his fingers around hers; frowning harder while the pain acted the same. Her thumb ran along her partner's palm, still surprised to not feel the same unpleasant wetness that wasn't leaving her. That different temperature was almost disturbing, but not that much incredible, on the other hand. After all, Lucifer wasn't _really_ human. And Hell had to be noticeably warmer than this place, though that last thought was only a simple supposition based on popular beliefs.

She would ask him later.

If they ever get out from here ...

"Uriel," he said, hardly swallowing.

"Uriel?" repeated Chloe.

"My little brother. He's dead." Lucifer quickly told her, like a dressing swiftly removed from a skinned wound.

 _Uriel._

That was the first time she heard that name. And the first time she heard about death with these divine creatures, which also included her partner, fallen divine creature of the sort or not.

"Dead? But ... I thought the angels immortal?"

Lucifer sighed and opened his eyes, looking straight ahead, carefully stretching his neck with the young woman's worried look on him.

He was white as a sheet…

Almost as white as his shirt. If that made any kind of difference. She quickly reassured herself, however; noticing the bright artificial light inside the elevator, which was flickering more and more often - it would have excessively turning anyone pale. She wasn't at her best advantage either.

"We are. 'Most of the time."

 _"_ _One_ _angel can hurt another."_

She remembered the time Lucifer said those exact words. She also remembered how he had stared at her right after that, his obsession for her back...

 _"Because I want to know if you're an angel sent to destroy me."_

Did he finally know?

Was she?

Chloe shook her head and almost rolled her eyes for thinking such kind of things.

No, that was stupid.

So stupid.

She has nothing _divine_. Nothing more divine than any other human being, at least, they were all born from a divine action that she could no longer deny from now on. She was born, like everyone else. She had grown up, like everyone else. She had nothing special.

 _"_ _Other than_ _make the Devil physically vulnerable …"_

She looked at Lucifer, squeezing his hand a little more in hers, pained for his lost.

"I'm sorry for your brother."

"Don't be, Detective. We weren't really close, as you can imagine."

Chloe lifted her head to the ceiling, her attention caught by an indistinct noise that wasn't coming from her or Lucifer. It sounded like a friction, she wasn't sure. She listened carefully but just heard Lucifer's breathing and hers filling space. Maybe she had dreamed this? She was so tired ... Her mind starting playing tricks on her like that didn't surprise her that much.

"What happened?" she asked him, lowering her head.

He laughed. Sort of. It sounded more like an amused coughing than a real laugh to her. His features tensed for a moment and he took a deep breath; trying to hide his pain under the shadow of a smile.

"You do really want to broach the saddest topics, don't you?" he pointed out to her.

"Maybe because our situation here is sad as well." she replied with a smirk.

Sad ... Heartbreaking, even.

" _Oh woman of little faith ..."_ he recited, giving her an amused look. "When I think that you doubted about my faith in the detective douche just a few hours ago..."

She laughed in turn, shrugging.

"Never had a leap of faith, for anything. I'm like St. Thomas."

"You'd sleep with half of the disciples, really? Awe-inspiring, Detective."

"What? Jesus, no! I would never!" she exclaimed, shocked; then staring at Lucifer. "But-… You mean that-… Thomas and Jesus's disciples?"

Lucifer's smile widened.

" _Saint_ is just a title."

"Wow ..." Chloe gasped, stunned. "But no. I wasn't thinking about this part. And I don't want to." she complained, rubbing her forehead. "I only believe in what I can see."

He turned his head slightly towards her, his tired eyes meeting hers.

"They'll get us out of here," he said reassuringly. "We just have to be patient. You will be back home -and to your offspring - much faster than you think. Or believe."

She smiled and stroked his hand with her thumb, resting her other hand on his arm.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Detective."

She sat down again comfortably beside him, together in silence. A minute passed, peacefully suffocating.

Maybe two.

"How was he? Uriel?"

She had only met Amenadiel; - an encounter or two, at best – from all of his siblings. She doubted she would ever meet others one day. Lucifer was logically no longer welcome and the angels mingled on rare occasions with mortals. Amenadiel was far away, physically speaking, from his brother. Even their personality seemed at opposites poles.

"He was a real pain in the ass." said her partner.

Not that "opposites poles", then.

"Looks like it runs in the family, mh?" she teased him.

He turned his head slightly towards her, giving her a half-amused, half-angry look.

"But he wasn't as attractive as I am!"

"Of course, he wasn't. And what else?"

"He'd always been the frailest, as far as I can remember."

Chloe frowned.

"I thought you were all ... _perfect_ ; physically speaking, I mean." she said.

"Our growth is quite similar to yours, you humans." explained Lucifer, resting the back of his head against the wall. "It's more or less the same."

"Tell me more about it."

"Well, we are growing up - over a period of time quite different from yours, it goes without saying - until we reach our physical maturity. And our body develops differently according to our ... abilities."

She couldn't help but smile. So he had been a child, too. She listened quietly to Lucifer explaining as best as he could what made angels different from human beings - apart from their straight connection to the Divine -, trying to imagine him younger and more innocent.

Too bad there was any photo album at his penthouse.

A Lucifer's eight years old version would definitely worth the journey.

"Sachiel, for instance, is able to control people's mind. Her power doesn't depend on physical strength, but rather on mental strength. She doesn't have Gabrielle's build who fulfills the job of messenger and warrior like Michael or Amenadiel. These three are part of the _beefy squad,_ as I called them..."

"And what about you?"

"Me?"

"Hmm ... Aren't you one of those beefy guys? I thought better of you!"

She looked at the ceiling again, staring at the flickering light for a moment before looking away. She was sure she heard another strange noise. After all this time being stuck here ... There was no risk that everything would collapse on them now, right?

" _Just stop thinking the worst, Chloe..."_

Lucifer laughed softly, it stopped as soon as it started. So short that the detective didn't notice. She was also struggling to breathe in this overheated metal jail.

"I'm much more complex than they will ever be, Detective." he said. "My abilities are a subtle blend of these two opposites. Mastering Light in all its forms is not given to everyone."

"Only to the best, huh?" Chloe supposed with a smile on the corner of her lips.

"Exactly."

"So ... Uriel was one of those who used their mind more than their body, wasn't he?"

A mocking exclamation came from her partner.

" _More_ isn't strong enough to describe him; he spent most of his time boasting about his _unerring_ – like he said - predictions. A wanky short-arse with wings, that's what he was, for sure..."

"His predictions, you say?" repeated the young woman, leaning more comfortably against the wall.

"Mhhh ... 'Wasn't a soothsayer, strictly speaking, but still... He managed to see every possible action that would lead to other possible events followed by other actions and so on."

" _A butterfly flapping its wings in New York can bring the storm to Beijing…"_ mechanically recited the detective.

"Something like that, yes. Uriel rather spoke of intertwined yarns, a complex painting that he was using like he wanted. 'Didn't help him much the last time we met, though..."

"Why not?" asked Chloe. "What happened?"

She soon suspected that this topic was much more difficult to broach, Lucifer's prolonged silence was quite revealing. Nevertheless, she wanted to know. Lucifer made a vague movement with his free hand.

"He's dead, here's what happened. Aren't you thirsty, Detective?" he asked suddenly - to change the subject, most likely. "I'd kill for a drop of water.."

"No, 'm not. But how could he die? Your brother seemed to always know where he was going, right? And even without that, I guess killing an angel isn't as simple as killing a human being, am I wrong?"

Chloe suspected that Uriel's death was certainly not accidental; she could tell it just by seeing Lucifer's tension. But some details still didn't fit; surely because he hadn't told her much about them yet. Did it have something to do with his strange vulnerability?

A terrible grinding noise ran across the ceiling and the detective lifted her head. She hadn't imagined _that_. She waited for each new noise with growing concern.

"You heard this?" she whispered to her partner while sitting up a bit.

Receiving no answer from the Devil, she turned to him.

"Lucifer?"

Her heart missed a beat, seized by his sudden immobility beside her. Chloe instinctively put her palm against his chest, looking for his beating heart so that her own could beat again. She felt it, beyond this tension, this strange stiffness that was possessing his body without warning.

What the hell was happening to him?

She moved her hand on his shoulder, shaking him as much as she could without worrying about hurting him further. He kept his eyes closed, unresponsive to her verbal and physical calls.

"Lucifer?" she called him a second time, a warning note in her voice.

She barely managed to get a weak whistling when he tried to take a deep breath.

Definitely concerned, Chloe shook him harder and harder.

"Lucifer!"

 **-** **xXx** **-**

* * *

So dark ...

Why was it so dark?

And cold. Freezing.

When did he turn into a frozen statue?

'Couldn't be ... He was the Devil. The Ruller of Hell thus turned into a vulgar snowman; it was unimaginable.

"Lucifer!"

Chloe?

Right; she had asked him a question. He wasn't sure he could answer her, or even if he had to. How could he tell her that he had killed his own brother?

"What?!"

 _Ow._

Did he think aloud?

The pain melted the frost around his numb limbs, inside his veins; digging its way to his lungs.

Such an unpleasant feeling.

"Oh God..."

 **H** im again? Why were they always speaking about **H** im lately? Uriel's death had nothing to do with his **F** ather but everything to do with his mother. There was a difference. And also because he wanted to put an end to the detective's life, but...

"Lucifer! _Hey_ , Lucifer! Look at me!"

It took quite a long time before his eyelids complied with his partner's pestering demands. How could it be so difficult to open his eyes, to keep them that way for a few seconds? He frowned, trying to focus as best he could on the blurry figure kneeling before him. Chloe was supporting his face with both hands.

So soft...

"Lucifer ... How did you get this?"

He blinked, surprised to see these strange dark clouds surrounding the edges of his sight.

"Get what?" he said.

His voice was furred, coming from far away; a kind of echo swallowed by darkness.

"This mark on your side! When did it happen?"

A mark? 'Didn't remember such a thing. Unless- ... Is that why he was struggling that much to fill his lungs with air instead of this liquid pressure?

"Dunno...'f...'ell, didn't we?"

Lucifer groaned, intrigued by this whistling that answered to his lack of oxygen. He wanted more than anything to breathe, to appease the pressure around his rib cage. Nothing helped, though.

He tensed against the wall, a panicked whistling coming out of his mouth eager for air and water, the pressure around his lungs not loosening for a second. A blinding light assaulted him; then came a shadow that fell on his tired eyes.

"Lucifer, stay with me!" begged Chloe, panicking as much as he was. "Keep your eyes open for me, okay?"

Right.

The darkness faded to show him again his partner's anxious face Why was she so anxious? She shouldn't be. He had done the right thing ... He protected her from Uriel, from himself.

"Protected me? But- - Lucifer, stay with me! Help's on its way; can't you hear them? They're right above us!"

Were they, now? No, he didn't hear anything. Just the pain that was ripping his skin up, his nerves... absolutely everything. And his failing heartbeats in his chest.

Was this all part of **H** is Plan? He wondered. Not that he would ever have an answer to this one as to the others. **H** e who had so meticulously planned everything from A to Z ... From his arrival in Los Angeles to Chloe's miraculous conception...

Such a beautiful miracle...

"W-What? What are you talking about?"

Did he think aloud again?

Bloody vulnerability ...

His eyes found Chloe's wavering shadow in front of him for the second time. She was beautiful, indeed. And not only because of her divine origins.

" _Nononononono!_ Lucifer! Stay with me! _**Lucifer!**_ _"_

So stubborn and domineering.

Oh, he did want to stay. He truly did.

But he belonged to darkness.

Since the beginning of times and the end of it.

He was, however, relieved to know the detective a bit closer to the truth as he surrendered for good to the frozen oblivion; briefly wondering why he had been so much scared that she might find it out one day.

* * *

 _ **Tbc**_

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

(Dunno how many times I wrote these notes – my connection gives me hard time -_-)

Here is my revenge for those who have the chance to meet the cast of the show in Brighton X) Kidding, kidding! You know how much I love cliffhangers, right?

For the next time; **"Acte de foi"** or **"From Darkness arose the Light"** (it's been a while for the last one).

I hope you enjoyed reading those few lines!

Bye bye!


	7. Like a miracle

**LIKE A MIRACLE**

* * *

What about the _white_?

What about it?

Was that some kind of tacit, universal and timeless agreement among the medical institutions abounding on earth?

Who did once say _"the white is the reflection of hope, of health" ? A_ n idiotic, deductive sentence that gave support to an equally nonsensical assumption.

Chloe had been staring at the white wall in front of her long enough to have wondered about this, and thus fairly often without ever getting a good or smart answer to it; anything that could have appeased her restless mind, just for a second.

She was surrounded by "white", wherever her eyes stopped.

Everything had turned into white; even before she arrived in this place looking like any other hospital. Turning into white when the rescue workers and their flashlights had finally reached them. White, like the sunlight that had blinded her when she had been driving outside. Turning into white when the doctor explained to her Lucifer's deep injuries.

 _" It seems that Mr. Morningstar has been injured during your fall. His broken ribs haven't been immediately taking in charge and thus worsened his general state over the next few hours. An internal bleeding can be quite impressive to see and a serious complication, but I assure you he's in good hands..."_

Good hands.

White hands, tinted with the gloves they wore. White... But they wouldn't stay that way.

White walls.

This white bed.

These white curtains.

White, white, white and... white.

Others hues than white were unsuccessfully trying to balance the heavy atmosphere; a wall painted with shy green to show the entrance to the cafeteria a few meters away, rather uncomfortable gray seats welcoming people's relative patience inside the waiting room or even the garish red from a vending machine at the corner of the hallway.

None of them managed to capture Chloe's gaze.

There were some things that easily consumed the rest of the world.

Just like this white did. Sort of.

It was an absurd choice of hue. How could we think to connect health to a hue - a gaudy and so _not_ comforting hue, moreover? Chloe didn't feel comforted by this uniformity.

She felt no comfort in front of this deplorable wall. She wasn't appeased by that same facial paleness that hadn't left Lucifer a single moment since he came back from the surgical unit. This said, his nightshirt as white as the rest significally reduced her partner's appearance. Just like the medical equipment that surrounded his unmoving body.

It was difficult to turn her thoughts towards any positive direction with that. Chloe had told herself over and over again that everything would be fine, that he was in good hands now, that nothing bad would happen to them both between these walls. Some meaningless thoughts inside this room, before Lucifer's closed eyes. Useless, really.

With a long sigh, the detective stretched the muscles of her shoulders, which painfully complained about this treatment, and closed her eyes. Her eyelids shut, she could have thought she was still stuck under these tons of concrete; still screaming Lucifer's name to bring him back to her, screaming for help to those who were making their way among the rubble.

One hour.

An hour to hear the stones fall, grazing metal. An hour without hearing Lucifer's voice again...

She mechanically moved her hand to her temple, rubbing the wound dressing hidden under her loose hair.

Touching the flood of useless thoughts without succeeding to clear them from her mind, just like this vise around her skull. She could almost hear Daniel admonished her over and over again, though he was no longer there.

" _There's nothing more you can do right now, Chloe. Go home and take some rest. Trixie needs you, too."_

Of course she wanted to go home, but sh-

She couldn't. Not now. Not yet.

She wanted to see her daughter, hold her in her arms and hold the certainty of never losing her again. She wanted to fall asleep beside her, huddled-up together under her pink blanket. Fall asleep and forget a bit.

But she couldn't.

She needed something else before.

Chloe opened her eyes. Lucifer didn't.

When will he open his damn eyes?

She leaned forward, her face close to his, and waited. What did she expect? She couldn't tell. A physical demonstration of life; a deeper breathing, a bending of his unmoving fingers on the sheet, a slight frown... Something that would finally ease her from all these deleterious thoughts.

Still, Lucifer didn't respond to her despair and remained to his peaceful oblivion. No bending, not the slightest frown or any noticeable change in his breathing. Nothing.

Squinting, the detective shifted and whispered in his ear;

"Nice try, but I won't leave this seat without answers to my questions."

She sat up properly and didn't take her eyes off Lucifer's features.

"I'll stay here as long as necessary, whether you like it or not."

She probably looked crazy by threatening someone unconscious and unable to defend himself, but she couldn't care less about it. She might have been worried about him - and she was - but she couldn't get away from that greedy frustration that stifled her more as the hours passed without any change. It almost looked perfectly calculated. The internal bleeding - unfortunate consequence of a deadly fall; that _should_ have been deadly for anyone else – combined with his broken wing, passing out right on time; it was evident. The medical teams that had immediately separated them once they had been pulled out of the elevator shaft, this endless surgery... and now this.

It was really well played.

Giving her such information and then become totally inaccessible...

"Very well played." she mumbled, glaring at him. "You bastard..."

"It certainly sounds like him."

Chloe turned her head and took notice of Amenadiel's presence in the doorway. She hadn't even heard him come in, too busy she was to ponder and insult his brother lying in that awful white bed. Either that or Amenadiel was able to sneak in and out wherever he wanted without making a single noise - could be that, couldn't it? She didn't know much about his powers, other than his _beefy squad_ status. Or she was just much more exhausted than she thought. One like the other, she was ridiculous anyway.

"Amenadiel! Good morning or... evening? What time is it?" she mumbled, looking for her phone in her jacket pocket.

"Five a.m. Visiting times are over; why are you still here?"

"The medical team gave up trying to get me out of here as soon as I showed them my badge." explained the detective, shrugging a bit. "What about you?"

"The benefits of being a family member, I guess."

Chloe nodded, looking at Lucifer's brother without a word.

Did he know that _she_ knew?

Knowing Lucifer, the answer was negative.

Amenadiel took the free chair near the window. He sat beside the young woman without saying a word, looking for a moment at his brother's fragile silhouette. A silhouette so far away from this thousand-years-old strength told by the myths of every earthly cultures, far away from the Devil, this relentless maleficent demon without the slightest physical flaw. A flaw that should never have happened.

It was her fault.

 _Hers._

And she still didn't know why.

" _As long as I'm staying near you, I become mortal."_

She didn't know what to think, actually. Not since-

"Dan told me what happened." said Amenadiel, interrupting her thoughts.

"Is that why you're here? You're planning to convince me to go home and sleep a bit?"

"Should I convince you?" he replied with a smile.

She shrugged, smiling in turn. She had no clear answer to give him. Getting answers was important for her, but going home for a moment to think about all this, lying down with Trixie beside her; it was important, too.

"Not if you want to waste your time."

"Got it. And to answer to your question; no, I'm here for my brother. If you don't mind having company, of course."

"I don't mind at all." Chloe reassured him, pulling on a corner of the blanket that was stretched over Lucifer to remove a fold in the fabric.

They didn't say a word for a moment, both feeling no need to speak, both looking at the Devil's unmoving body, both waiting for something new that wouldn't happen any time soon. Chloe's eyes lingered a long time on his face, his black curls teasing his forehead, his long eyelashes against his pale skin; such fine locks of a same kind of answer.

Lucifer had tried to describe her his real appearance - as he called it - although there was only one for the detective.

 _"-...Well... It's quite the same that a burned face, I guess. In a more... infernal way."_

She tried to replace this human face with that very different one, searching her memory and her imagination, both obviously so far away from the reality he had portrayed in a few words. She had seen a few cases of serious burns when she started to work for the LAPD. That was after voluntary fires with multiple victims. skinless, red... She couldn't describe it.

And the smell.

Chloe mechanically tightened her fingers around the arm of her seat; feeling almost instantly sick.

"Is everything all right?" Amenadiel asked her.

She nodded, hardly swallowing with the knot that had just formed inside her throat.

"Yes. Yes, 'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, really. It's just-I'm tired, 'no big deal."

It was Amenadiel's turn to nod, still looking concerned, though. A few seconds passed before she heard his careful deep voice again;

"I've heard that there was a staff room downstairs... If you want to close your eyes for a time-"

"- and move me away enough from Lucifer so that he could heal faster?" ended the detective.

She turned her head and wasn't surprised to meet his chocked expression.

So, it was "no" for her. Not a big surprise.

Chloe turned her head back to her unconscious partner, smiling slightly at this all new breach of his _truth_ engagement.

"I already thought about it. Lucifer and I have been separated long enough since our rescue until we arrived at the hospital. And I don't even count the four hours of surgery on the other side of the hospital - which makes me think that he can't heal himself as fast as you both think, even though I would have been at the other end of the planet. Maybe it's because of his wing..." she thought aloud.

"His wing?"

"He broke it when he tried to save me; it's been in a bad shape since. That with the internal bleeding... So no, going away wouldn't help much. Except to avoid answering my questions. Stupid Devil."

She could feel Amenadiel's look piercing her skin. He stared at her a long time.

"How long?"

"Only a few weeks." replied the young woman. "But there're still so many things I don't know, apparently. And this asshole couldn't find a better plan not to telling me the truth!" she exclaimed, pointing at Lucifer.

She let out a bitter exclamation and then crossed her arms on her chest.

"I shouldn't be so surprised, right?" she mumbled.

Amenadiel didn't give her an answer, lost in thought. And Chloe didn't try to get some from him. It was up to Lucifer to give them to her. She wanted it to come from him.

When was he going to wake up?

She barely noticed that his brother had gotten up and invited her to do the same, staring blankly at the hand he was offering to her, confused.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm offering you some answers, for want of anything better than my brother's. And a cup of coffee." he added with a smirk. "Either one should provide you some comfort after that terrible day, don't you agree?"

Chloe hesitated; what if Lucifer did wake up in the meantime? A deep feeling of guilt seized her as soon as she seized his hand; a strong feeling that wasn't enough to deafen her need for answers instead of the actual Devil's quiet lethargy.

But she _**did want**_ answers.

And if there was one thing that Lucifer would understand... it was her choice to fulfill that desire at the cost of everything else.

 **-** **xXx** **-**

* * *

Now that she was sitting in front of that green wall, Chloe realized that she had quickly misjudged the lighter hues from the rest of the building. White wasn't that bad to look.

"Here."

She gladly accepted the cup of a darker hue offered by Amenadiel, a strong smell of cheap coffee brushing her nose. She already drank this so much at the precinct that she almost forgot the delicious taste of freshly milled coffee beans.

"Thanks."

She poured a lot of sugar in it and stirred the "coffee" with her spoon. Except for a few doctors and nurses who were waiting for the end of their shift by drinking another cup of coffee and no more think about the time; they were both alone. It was for the best; Chloe didn't know where this conversation would lead them. Where it would lead her feelings. In fact, this was the most uncertain thing at the moment.

Amenadiel took place before her, then he lifted his own cup to his lips. The sour prequel of a complicated talk. The detective didn't rush things, she had no interest in doing so and wasn't that impatient to start.

A real contradiction...

 _"Give me answers, but jut those that I might like."_

Something like that, yeah.

She kept stirring the sugar in her coffee even if it had already disappeared into it, watching the movement of the warm liquid around her spoon.

"You seem to take the news surprisingly well." began Amenadiel after a while.

There you go.

There was the starting signal.

"It wasn't easy the first times." said Chloe with a tensed smile. "It's still complicated... most of the time."

"This is understandable. The proof of the divine is something difficult or impossible to deal with, for people as fragile as humans can be."

The detective let out a slight exclamation.

"By seeing Lucifer like this... I'd say that's an inter-species notion, isn't it?"

"Well-It's...What's happening to my brother can't be seen as a generality; it's-…"

" _Complicated_?" she helped him.

"Sort of." Amenadiel told her with a light laughter, seemingly uneased, though.

"Tell me about it..."

"How did you find out?"

Chloe shrugged.

"Lucifer left his cut wings in one of his cupboards. 'Couldn't any longer deny the facts right before my nose after that."

Amenadiel sighed deeply, getting instantly upset with the detective's explanation. He shook his head, staring into space, and began to mumble insults against his younger brother.

"...-lucked prick! He won't listen to me, will he?! How stupid I was to hope that he might think a bit after his last session with Linda! Wait-Wait, you talked about his wings earlier, didn't you?" he exclaimed, staring at Chloe, suddenly filled with hope about these divine limbs. "Didn't he cut them off after all? Why didn't he?"

"Because I asked him not to."

"You what?"

"I asked him to stop it. Only until he finds out the reason they came back." she explained.

Amenadiel stared at her, speechless, and then laughed.

"You're the very first person he listens, Chloe. You really must be somebody special to affect him and his behavior like this!"

Chloe smiled in turn, barely. Her hands clenched around the goblet as she took a long breath.

"I guess that... A _walking miracle_ is indeed special." she said as calmly as she was able to.

As calm as she could seem, the detective felt antsy inside; each of her thoughts, each of her breathings acting together to bring it outside. Her trembling hand around her cup was the only thing that betrayed her real state of mind. Amenadiel didn't seem to notice though. If the young woman was possessed by untimely tremors; all of a sudden, he was frozen to place; a quiet, solid salt statue with its dark eyes on her without blinking for single a moment.

Of course, Chloe had expected to cause a more or less strong reaction by splaying her ace, but she had to admit that the angel's reaction here – well, the complete lack of it - wasn't planned at all. After all... That miracle "thing"; she had every right to feel upset about it, even if she didn't know much. But if Amenadiel reacted that way with just a few words...

What did she miss?

"Who told you this?" asked the angel with a tensed tone.

"Lucifer. I mean... I'm not even sure he realized what he was saying back then, in his bad condition."

"What else did he tell you?"

"Not much." answered Chloe, sitting up in her chair, feeling more and more uneased with Amenadiel's eyes on her. "It sounded like crazy stuff for the most of it. He said… "

Chloe tried to remember Lucifer's words as he told them before he lost consciousness.

"He said that your **F** ather planned absolutely everything. That he had to protect me... protect me from himself."

She sighed, shaking her head.

"That's complete nonsense."

She began to nibble her thumb with anxiety and looked at Amenadiel who seemed to have nothing to say about this part of the story. Not even one additional question or two.

This anxiety she had been feeling for a moment instantly exploded. Chloe slowly moved her hand away from her mouth, staring at her partner's brother.

"Oh G-…" she whispered, stunned. "Tell me it's nonsense, Amenadiel. Please!"

"Chloe-"

" _Oh fuck-_ " she said in a very low tone, getting up and placing her hands on her strangely painful temples at once.

Two men that were sitting at a few tables from them stopped their conversation to stare at her, curious. Amenadiel leaned forward, moving his hand towards her, knowing then that he couldn't reach her from where he was.

"Chloe, please-"

She didn't listen, making a few steps till the other end of the table, going round in circles, not caring about the multiple curious looks on her. She had trouble breathing, thinking. She had so much hoped to have misunderstood Lucifer's words; she had convinced herself that it was nothing, just insignificant ramblings. All that coming from a seriously injured devil.

Exhaustion, her own exhaustion...Something, anything.

Anything, but certainly not the "truth".

"Oh for fuck's sa-!" she exclaimed in a breath, turning quickly to the table, not caring about Amenadiel's endless asking. "I'm a fucking walking miracle!"

A miracle.

Like-... Like the Virgin Mary!

Or Lazaru's resurrection.

A miracle.

"Why?" she murmured, staring blankly at the wall in front of her.

The detective finally turned to Amenadiel and looked him in the eye, the angel still struggling to appease her after this destabilizing revelation. A bomb would have been sweeter to handle... so much sweeter than this. Their trip in the elevator wasn't that terrible, after all.

A miracle. A straight creation from God, from Lucifer's holy **F** ather... Why? Why even doing this?!

"Why?!" she repeated harshly, deeply upset.

"Chloe-"

"Lucifer told me that youand your **F** ather were close; so, don't pretend you don't know." she warned him, her voice trembling with rage. "You do _know_ something! You do!"

The subject was complicated enough for Amenadiel to wait for an alternative before he finally gave up the fight and sighed with resignation. At this point, Chloe wasn't expecting to be comforted or belied. As terrible as his answers might be, she needed to hear them.

He had to know something, he had to explain to her.

He had to; someone had to.

And right now.

"I don't know much about this." he warned her.

He waited for her to answer him, but the young woman remained silent and kept glaring at him, resolute. Amenadiel sighed again and looked down, probably unable to reveal what he knew while supporting Chloe's gaze.

"One day, my **F** ather summoned me; an interview **H** e kept secret from the rest of my family. It was thirty-five years ago. I wasn't surprised to be summoned; it has always worked like that with **H** im and I guess it still does since. But... the secret around intrigued me. It was something new. Just like what **H** easked me. Well... not that new, but this practice was forgotten for so long back then that I didn't think I'd use it right away."

"What did **H** e ask you?"

"That I bless a couple so that they give birth to a child. I wasn't allowed to ask why... Never."

"This couple-... Was it-?"

Amenadiel nodded.

"Your parents, yes."

"You knew... The whole time... you knew!" murmured Chloe, annoyed at feeling tears tickle the corner of her eyes.

"I didn't know it was **you** , Chloe." he tried to defend himself. "I only found out when I met your mother again six months ago. That's when I understood your emotional connection with Lucif-"

Amenadiel abruptly stopped talking, shutting his eyes and clenching his fists on the table.

But it was too late.

" _What?"_

Chloe's voice was a cold breath. Her whole body suddenly submerged by a freezing wave of understanding. Would she have wanted to move that she wouldn't have been able to, breathing was almost a miracle.

A miracle ... What a cruel irony.

The anxiety she had so much wanted to hide from his sight was now the mistress of her senses, of her emotions, of her very least thoughts. Chloe had no more control on them. It appeared to her then that she never has. Not even once.

She wasn't even supposed to exist.

If she was here, it was just-

It was-

"For him." she said aloud through her trembling lips.

She could feel Amenadiel's concerned look on her. She could also feel that freezing tumult ravaging everything inside her. One thought, more powerful than this indefinable chaos, remained in her mind.

"I need to get out of here."

And without warning, Chloe staggered towards the white, impersonal corridor; she clung on to that single thought, clinging on to that unnerved reason before this terrible truth. She barely noticed that Amenadiel had moved as well, holding her by the arm - she only stopped after she noticed this unpleasant tension in her numbed limb. She blinked several times, astonished to feel nothing more than that iron grip around her flesh.

"Chloe-"

"I need to get out of here." she repeated weakly by looking him straight in the eye.

He seemed to hesitate, but finally let her go.

When she finally reached the corridor, she heard Amenadiel's deep voice resounded behind her;

"I'll let you know when he'll wake up."

Chloe didn't answer, now almost rushing towards the exit of the hospital. Rushing to escape this truth, her own answer that she feared not being in Lucifer's favor. Nor in anyone's favor.

She could only run.

Run and avoid asking Amenadiel not to.

* * *

 _ **Tbc with... "The person I am."**_


	8. The person I am

**Author's notes:**

 _Here we with another chapter, guys. I'm warning you - it's pretty emotional this one (as you might guess with the end of the last one).  
_ _Chloe has a lot to think about!_

 _A big thank you to my beta_ **Kay_Kat** _:)_

* * *

 **THE PERSON I AM**

* * *

A miracle.

Chloe started to step on the gas without realizing it, pushing desperately on it and not even worrying about the consequences that could follow. She was no longer a detective inside the enclosed suffocating space of her car; she was no longer responsible, for anything.

She was no longer a mother, a detective who cared about the respect of the law, a woman, a human being...

She was a miracle.

Chloe shook her head sharply and blinked; anyone who had seen her now could reasonably have wondered about her sanity. She wondered too, in an entrenched part of her mind. It was crazy. Crazy. Far too much to be real. Her mind was playing tricks to her, it had to be. She wasn't crazy. Or... if it really was the truth, she will be soon enough.

It was true.

It was true. As true as the air that was whipping her face through the ajar window. As much as her damp hands around the wheel. As true as the hardness of asphalt running under the car wheels. She gazed blankly at the white stripes on the road, short-lived, instantly devoured by her. She watched them slide under her, under her car, sliding through time and gradually changing. They were still slipping, but their meaning was different. A clear alignment on the old tarmac; huge letters sliding one by one in front of her to form a single word.

Miracle.

Chloe's eyes widened and she turned around to look through the rear window at the perfectly aligned, perfectly harmless white stripes moving away from her before vanishing under other vehicles. Panting, she focused on the road again.

Yeah, her mind was definitely playing tricks to her.

No matter where she was looking, she couldn't escape her miraculous existence; not even at this praiseworthy mad speed - in madness standard. Billboards, Brands, stands… everything was giving her the same damn message;

Miracle.

This wasn't real; she was well aware of that. Aware of losing her mind. Being that much aware of this was unusual, it wasn't normal, not on a human level. But for a miracle like her; it probably was. Why wouldn't it be, right? Her twisted mind was manipulating her, and she knew it; it was miraculous. Or was it God Himself who was tormenting her like this?

Nothing was impossible now.

God was subjugating her whole life; He had subjugated Chloe even before her divine conception among humans which had been stronger than any supposedly inflexible laws of Mother Nature. Maybe it was Him who was playing tricks to her like her mind did, changing what she was seeing into the one thing she never wanted to see again.

Miracle, miracle, miracle….

She couldn't run from it. Not from her thoughts. And even less from God. She was living, breathing, thinking, loving; and all this because of Him. She couldn't do anything to get away from it. That was how it was and she couldn't help it.

She couldn't.

And Lucifer who—

"Oh G— _Gosh!_ " Chloe mumbled, clenching her teeth and new tears threatening to run down her cheeks.

She who had always been amused by Lucifer's dislike every time someone had mentioned his Dad... she could understand his reaction now. She shared it. Turning her thoughts to God, naming Him without realizing it, even thinking of Lucifer became almost unbearable for her.

Lucifer.

A miracle.

She who—

He who—

Chloe heard a furious horn blast and got out from these divine and unbearable thoughts. She reflexively put the breaks on, barely avoiding crashing into another car which passed at full speed right before hers. Still heavily panting, she struggled to control her tremors and the plaintive cry scratching the inside of her throat, eager to come out. Biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, Chloe pressed her sweaty forehead against the wheel, trying to take a deep breath. Her hysterical tremors quickly got mixed up with the throbbing of the engine.

Stop thinking.

Stop th—

 _"It was thirty-five years ago—"_

 _"You look familiar. Have we met?"_

 _"It appears that you're making me vulnerable too."_

 _"As long as I'm staying near you, I become mortal."_

 _"He planned everything from A to Z."_

She kept pressing her forehead against the wheel and squeezed her hands around it. She squeezed so hard that she couldn't say where her skin stopped and where the leather began.

Planned. Everything was planned.

From the beginning.

She might have bitten her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, but it wasn't enough to chase away her distress. One after another, they came out of her mouth, uncontrollable. Plaintive whimpers, terrified cries, angry ones….

She cried, moaned, begged. Unable to move. Unable to stop or hear anything else than this.

Unable to feel anything else than her defeated tears crashing into her lap.

 **\- xXx -**

* * *

Chloe barely came back to her senses once she was standing before her front door. She couldn't tell what time it was nor how much time she had been a pitiful mess in her car, shaking and crying. But here she was now.

Home.

Maybe she should have felt comforted, but she wasn't feeling anything. She was just... here. Not really by choice - why even talk about a choice when she knew the truth about herself? - nor because she wanted to be there. There was only necessity left. But it wasn't.

She was standing there.

Standing before her front door, looking through it, playing with her keys.

Right there.

She looked long at the sunlight moving along the smooth wall of the front door, she couldn't take her eyes off it. It was neither fascinating nor boring; it was just... like this. She had no reason to watch this brightness gradually lapping at the ground and the tip of her shoes.

She was looking at it, just looking.

The time passed; short seconds and long minutes, and she still couldn't open the door or even turning back from it. Until the sunlight began to spread over her back and all around her. She eventually noticed the delighted laughter that filtered through the window of her living room and shuddered slightly. She listened to her daughter's laugh and blinked several times before swallowing, still shaken by the events of the last hours. Her hand tightly holding her keys, she took a long shaky breath. Clinging to Trixie's laugh, Chloe opened the door and went inside, heavy hearted.

Once the door was closed, she leaned against it, studying the room like it was the very first time she saw it.

"Mommy!"

Her eyes immediately found her daughter sitting on the couch near Mazikeen who moved her long black plait over her left shoulder. The demon nonchalantly waving her hand towards her. "Hey, Decker. I thought you were staying at the hospital today? Did our 'Sleeping Devil' finally wake up?" she asked, taking one of her knives that were driven in the coffee table.

Chloe instantly flinched by hearing this and took a moment to answer, fearing that her voice might betray her at the worst timing. "N-No. Not yet. Amenadiel took over. What are you doing with all these knives?"

"Maze is teaching me how to use them," Trixie explained instantly, almost ecstatic. "And she'll show me how to throw them on a target!"

Mazikeen, who had been intently watching her since she had spoken, turned to the little girl and handed her the dagger she was holding with a knowing smile. "Only if you remember the rule, small human."

 _"Spine's divine, those knees they work just fine!"_ recited Trixie in a solemn tone.

Nodding mechanically, Chloe forced herself to smile. A part of her mind reminded her that knives couldn't be safe for her daughter, but it was a meager part compared to the rest that was still busy with the extinction of her identity. She moved away from the door, still playing with her keys before taking a few slow steps towards the center of the room.

"T-that's great. Great, yeah…. Have fun."

Just after mumbling this, Chloe went straight to the kitchen. She grabbed the bottle of vodka - her roommate's favourite alcohol, which she added to absolutely everything - and looked for a glass that she hoped big enough to contain her distress in alcoholic deciliters. She started to remove the cork and turned slightly towards the edge of the counter, jumping when she met the inquisitive look of the demon who was leaning against it.

" _Oh Fu—_ Maze!" exclaimed Chloe, squeezing the bottle against her chest, briefly closing her eyes to regain composure. "Ho-How did you sneak in there?!"

G— Jezz, she hadn't seen her move from the couch. What the hell?!

The demon squinted and didn't move a jot, perfect picture of a ruthless predator.

"Who are you?" she asked point blank.

"What?"

"Who. Are. You?"

"It's me, Maze, _Chloe_. You saw me walk through the door five minutes ago! What's wrong with you?" she replied, pouring the vodka into her glass.

She almost lost her voice right after the first shot.

"Decker, the _real_ Decker, would never have reacted that way. She'd have shouted bullshit about responsibilities and education after she saw me doing this with Trixie. So…" said the demon while taking her blade out of nowhere, "Who the hell are you?"

As usual, Chloe wasn't even frightened by Mazikeen's threatening speech. shaking her head, she emptied her second shot.

"That's an excellent question," she admitted in a whisper, looking ahead. "Especially when you know that... the _real Decker_ is just a lie."

The inside of her throat was burning, but she couldn't care less, relieved that this flame was finally replacing that one around her eyes, until then unstoppable. She refilled her glass, almost forgetting her roommate's demonic presence near her until she talked again. "Wh— ?!"

"Did you know it?" Chloe interrupted her, her voice hoarse with alcohol.

"Know what?"

"Did you know what I am?"

The perplexity quickly gave way to understanding in Mazikeen's brown gaze who straightened up, not looking down, not once. She tilted her head aside, looking serious.

"He told you."

It wasn't a question, not even a supposition. It was a simple straight deduction. Mazikeen also knew about her, then, understood Chloe.

"Something like that," she mumbled, bringing her glass to her lips.

The demon held her arm, her friend didn't fight her but gave her a puzzled look, yet too upset to rebel. Without a word, Mazikeen grabbed her glass and the bottle, as if to prevent her from getting drunk. That was odd, especially when you knew her inclinations and questionable activities. Her roommate handed the bottle to Chloe and emptied the glass before sitting on the counter.

"He shouldn't have," she said, her tone clearly blaming Lucifer for doing so.

"Why not? I deserve to know the truth!' Chloe immediately became annoyed, annoyed that they took that decision from her, what she should know or not, and immediately felt bad to take it out on her friend.

"And how is it going with the truth, uhm? Happy?" the demon replied sharply.

Chloe remained quiet, answering the question in spite of herself. Mazikeen let out a deep sigh as she put her hand on the counter.

"Who would want to know that kind of bullshit…." she muttered. "He should have shut his mouth. And so should I."

Chloe stared at her roommate. "What do you mean 'so should I'?"

Mazikeen shrugged and leaned against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. "I was the one who told him in the first place. I mean... I wanted to, but—"

"You did? But? But 'what'? And why?!"

So Lucifer hadn't known before too? But when did he find out?

"I thought that his Father was trying to manipulate him again, to use him like His toy. Don't make me wrong, Decker, you're cool - in your way - but... Lucifer would do anything for you. You were the perfect weapon to use against him and... I couldn't let Him do this," tried to explain her friend. "That's my job; to protect him."

She looked down and sighed, rubbing her thumb absentmindedly against the edge of her blade.

"But then, I saw his face. And... whether you could have been a threat to him or not; it hadn't seemed that important to tell him. He was happy. And he could have stayed that way without that bitch!"

"Who are you talking about?" Chloe asked her.

"His mom."

"His mom? She told him?"

Mazikeen nodded. "Just after he saw the picture, yeah."

"The picture? What picture?"

"There was a picture in the bar; you could see Amenadiel having a drink with your mother at your age. Once Lucifer had it in hand... Charlotte just… spit it out," explained the demon, still angry about it.

"When did it happen?" she asked, having a bad feeling.

"Just before you got poisoned."

Doctor Carlisle.

 _"Did you know?! This whole bloody time... did you know?!"_

Chloe laughed bitterly and put her hands on the counter, her loose hair partially hiding her tense profile. She rocked to her feet, shaking her head gently, taking a deep breath. Her lips trembled as her breath ghosted over them, for what reason she couldn't say, anger, fear, surprise, knowledge she would have liked to be ignorant of….

"That's why he left," she understood.

Mazikeen didn't deny; she stayed quiet, which was enough for Chloe. Answers, over and over again. She had looked for them for so long and now...

Now….

She laughed again; it sounded like a sob though, a defeated one.

"I've been so mad at him for this…. Now, I- I'd just like to do the same."

"Right… Definitely sounds like you!" said Mazikeen.

"I don't know what sounds like me or not, Maze!" she exploded, red with rage, and she felt relieved that Trixie had locked herself in her bedroom for a while and thus couldn't see her like this. "I no longer know!"

"Come on, Decker, pull yourself together! You've known that Lucifer's the Devil and that I'm a demon for weeks now! You know that the world doesn't run as smoothly as you thought! Being a walking miracle can't be that hard to handle, can it?"

"And how could you even understand how I feel about this?!" Chloe said. "I can't make a single decision on my own! God made me to fall into Lucifer's arms! _God created me!_ "

"As was I by Lucifer," the demon calmly replied.

That stopped Chloe's cries a bit.

She had forgotten that detail.

They looked at each other without a word for a few seconds, Chloe taking a breath and a bit of composure.

"I wouldn't exist without Lucifer," continued Mazikeen. 'It's a fact. But my life doesn't revolve around him. My life doesn't mean less simply because I didn't stay by his side. I do have a choice. And so do you."

With these words, Mazikeen straightened up and left to join Trixie in her bedroom. Chloe probably should have worried about it, but her mind kept spinning all over the words of her friend, mixing up her memories, her discoveries, her talks with Lucifer into an abominable maelstrom.

Choice.

She had a choice, really?

It didn't seem so right now. Like everything else.

Chloe sighed, she felt exhausted. In addition to these revelations - brutal ones, to say the least - she almost forgot she haven't slept for almost two days. Her head injury, a painful memory of her painful fall, it started to awaken again. She felt suddenly numb, every inch of her body weighing under the tension and exhaustion unjustly accumulated on her frail shoulders. The shoulders of an exhausted miracle.

At least she could choose, in a totally human way, to get some rest. It didn't sound so bad as a choice, and not as Cornelian as the rest. Her gaze briefly lingered on the bottle of vodka. She could also choose to drink and drink again, until her distress vanished somehow.

Yeah, it didn't sound bad at all.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket and she grabbed it, struggling to keep it between her numbed fingers. Her fingers clenched around the device as she read the message.

 **He's awake.**

Awake.

Awake.

She pressed her phone against her chest, secretly hoping to make that message disappear inside her flesh. A few minutes passed without her making a single gesture, frozen in her kitchen and looking an invisible spot before her.

Finally, Chloe slowly lowered her arm. Finally, she made her choice.

Maybe it wasn't the one expected from her, or even the bravest, but... what could she say? She was only human.

And hitting the booze definitely sounded like the better choice here.

* * *

 ** _Tbc with_ **"Well-wisher"

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Let a review as always if you're enjoying reading this story.


	9. Well-wisher

**Author's notes:**

 _Hey everyone,_

 _Thanks to my amazing beta_ **Kay_Kat** _(you rock!), here's the new translated chap. Enjoy X)_

* * *

 **WELL-WISHER**

9

* * *

God, she hated that sound.

At this hour, no noise should have even bothered her. Not a fly, not a step, not a syllable… nothing. That was how the first hours of the morning should might say they belonged just as well in the depths of the night.

Quarter past two AM couldn't reasonably be linked to that part of the day with sun-up and discreet dew, could it?

One o'clock was a common expression, though.

Not a sound, nobody to distract you; to give you advice or admonish you about anything.

That was one AM.

Chloe tensed on her seat for the umpteenth time, looking anxiously - and annoyingly - at her phone. With the screen facing the desk, the vibrate mode was deafening her. She couldn't turn it on the other side; seeing would have been worse. She could no longer see them, read them, dwell on them like that…. Nothing prevented her from turning it off, or even putting it in her locker for more peace of mind.

No, she couldn't either.

And she couldn't explain this either.

Chloe hated that noise. True. But she hated the heavy silence that replaced it all the more.

Determined, she turned another page of the file opened on her desk, the dark lines and letters stroked by the discreet light of her desk lamp and her fine fingers. It was one of the few lights still on here, but not many people were still up at this time. Only one or two colleagues on duty for a while longer, until sunup. They could have looked like ghosts, wandering around, without a sound, in the main darkness inside the precinct. Discreet as they were, they wouldn't disturb her in any way except to offer her a cup of coffee once or twice before the next shift. Although what she truly desired was far away from that dark liquid named 'coffee'.

She subconsciously dogeared the upper right corner of the page she was thumbing through quite distractedly, almost tearing it when another vibration spread into the rigid metal of her desk. Chloe couldn't help but watch the phone slightly moving not far from her left hand, closing it in a tensed fist to avoid making a big mistake.

Was it a mistake?

How could it not be?

She stared without blinking at the reflection of the screen leaping on her skin, holding her breath all along without knowing why. Yet she knew what it was about; _who_ it was about. Shaking her head with a sigh **,** Chloe refocused her attention to the file, seconds and minutes passed, an anxious wait of another sound interruption. She turned another page, reading a few lines unconvincingly. She retained a few words here and there, but she couldn't say being able to recite the whole thing faithfully to anyone. It wasn't an easy task to really focus after litres of vodka and a tough hangover. Chloe was even willing to bet that alcohol wasn't the only thing responsible for her actual state. She had pondered the meaning of life, the universe, and everything the last day - stupid and meaningful questions - that she had almost felt dizzy, besides the noticeable swaying of her miraculous but nevertheless fragile metabolism. Hours had passed, as slowly as here, sitting in front of her desk in a comfortless darkness - a perfect reflection of her state of mind. Hours during which she got lost in an ocean of questions, of emotions as powerful as unbearable. Regret, sadness, anger, guilt…. Hours of going around and around in circles in her bedroom; collapsing on her bed, screaming under the sheets soaked with tears so that her daughter wouldn't hear her. A frail silhouette at the mercy of the world, of an invisible entity that was stifling her with a simple thought, just like that.

At the mercy of this vibration.

Chloe sighed again, closing her eyes.

She won't look.

No.

What's the point?

With her eyelids shut, she could perfectly pictures letters and words brought together in sentences that wouldn't comfort her. Worse than that, they would dig this gaping hole, her endless dilemma, further.

But she had looked some of the texts.

The very first ones of this very long phone stalking.

She had tried not to, but the battle hadn't lasted long against her will and her desires. With red eyes and a dry mouth, Chloe had given in to temptation, squeezing the sheet wrapped around her on the floor - almost tearing it sweaty temple teased by the carpet, she hadn't been able to keep her eyes away from this screen, from these words - basic, stupid and insurmountable ones.

 **Not even cuddling Satan the King?**

A faint exclamation out of her shaky lips, a frail laugh and her tears had ended on the carpet, too.

"Asshole…" she had whispered to her phone.

He was.

The biggest asshole she had ever met.

He knew. He had to. Whether he remembered or not his last words in the elevator, Amenadiel and even Mazikeen had informed this so-called king.

 _Cuddling._

Was he even aware of what she was going through since then?

She had suddenly felt the urge to smash her phone against the wall, recalling Lucifer's tensed and deeply anxious expression at the precinct the day before. Was it, really? Maybe. She couldn't tell. Chloe had recalled his expression, his reluctance and even before that, the almost desperate barrier he had put a lot of efforts to build between them.

 _"Friends, that's exactly what we are. Just friends!"_

 _"Meet Candy Morningstar, my wife."_

Maybe that he—

No. No, there was no good intentions behind his past actions; only profound cowardice. He hadn't had the guts to tell her the truth - not even once she knew his true nature - not to protect her, but to protect himself.

He had lied to her.

Again.

The rage had barely brushed her that she had gotten another text.

 **How's your head?**

Followed by another.

 **I know a miracle cure.**

It was a very unfortunate choice of word.

The hesitation had grown inside her - perhaps he really cared about her, _her_ and not what she represented, what she _was_ on a divine level - immediately submerged by a bitterness she would never have thought feeling towards him.

Lucifer was _His_ son.

None of this would have happened if—

It was all his fault. If he hadn't been there in the first place, if he hadn't—

Hadn't what, huh?

What if he hadn't existed?

 _"Did you know? Huh? This whole bloody time... did you know?!"_

She had stared at the screen, this succession of texts scrolling over with endless vibration since then; unable to make a decision. Unable to choose.

Anger or acceptance.

A choice she couldn't make, not even now.

She just wanted to—

She just wanted a moment of peace.

"Decker?"

Chloe jumped with such vigour by hearing her name that she almost dropped her phone on the ground. Faster and much more alert than she was, Pierce narrowly caught it up a few inches away from the floor and then straightened up, his gaze fixed on her.

"Lieutenant…. Sorry," she apologized as she picked up her phone.

"What are you doing here?"

"I-I... hm... I couldn't sleep so... getting a head start with my paperwork sounded like a good idea, back then," she explained.

"I wasn't referring to the late hour, Decker. What are you doing here?"

His tone was cold, as usual. She generally instantly got angry when it happened, when she got the feeling that her supervisor was questioning her or her partner's skills. For now, however, she reacted to the opposite, apparently devoid of the slightest pugnacity.

"I'm fine," she reassured him, not looking directly at him. She turned her gaze to her, once again vibrating, phone, and unceremoniously dropped it onto her desk, perhaps a little too roughly. "I'm feeling perfectly fine, sir. You don't have to worry about me."

Her words didn't soften her supervisor's inscrutable face who said, "Still not answering my question, Detective."

"I—"

"You're not on duty tonight," he cut her off. "Nor tomorrow morning or the next days. You have nothing to do here."

"Sir, I—"

"Go home. That's an order."

Giving her no opportunity to defend her presence here, Pierce then walked away from her desk - the subject was certainly closed as far as he was concerned. He wasn't a man to be challenged, Chloe understood it well. He didn't like being challenged by anyone, especially by those who were under his command. She watched him walk away towards the main staircase. From the way he was moving, he seemed more tensed than usual. She got distracted by another vibration and gave an anxious look to her phone. This feeling didn't last, though; her attention was quickly drawn to the main entrance of the police station, any kind of anxiety forgotten for increased curiosity. Chloe watched these new shadows coming down the stairs and meeting the Lieutenant, standing tight as a drum in front of them. These few people swallowed by darkness all seemed to be colleagues that just came back from patrols, but one of them seemed out of place with the others holding him by the shoulders and his slower way to walk down the stairs.

Probably a suspect.

Nothing that exceptional - even in the middle of the night - to require Pierce's instructions.

Frowning, Chloe leaned over her desk, hoping to discover more about what was going on. She barely caught snatches of conversation from where she was. The exchange between his colleagues and Pierce didn't last long; Pierce giving a very last recommendation before heading to his office opposite to the interrogation room - that was where this intriguing suspect was roughly led to.

Chloe waited until she was sure that Pierce was staying in his office to then discreetly advanced towards the interrogation room whose doors were guarded by one of the police officers in charge of the suspect's arrest.

She recognized him after getting close enough. Carl Norton; a highly qualified officer with whom she had had the honour of collaborating at the very beginning of her career. He was a breezy man, with a solid build that was instantly forgotten by his eternal radiant smile. Carl taught her all the tricks of the trade when she was still a 'newbie', a kind of mentor who could easily have been promoted to detective, which he had never been tempted to become. "Lot of worries but little benefits," as he used to say. He preferred to go to the front, in the streets and not stay stuck behind a desk as detectives were often forced to.

He reminded her somewhat of her father.

"Hey Carl."

"Chloe, hi! What are you doing here? I thought you gone for the week?" He was surprised.

"I was. I couldn't sleep, so... I came getting some files to keep me busy."

"That hard to get off it, huh?"

"You know me," she replied with a smile before looking at the closed doors behind him. "What about you? Adding another feather to your cap?"

Carl shrugged, distractedly scratching his greying hair.

"It's still much further away from yours. 'Would need another hundred arrests, right? But I'm not gonna count that one."

"Why not?"

"I dunno. It's been three days that this guy is wanted by every cop in LA. Three days we got nothing and then _boom!_ He suddenly turned up out of the blue, right in the street where Jozeppe and I were assigned at. He didn't even try to flee when he saw us…."

Three days.

"What's his name?"

"Ian. Ian Co-something... Wait, 'nealy have it," muttered Carl, thinking aloud as he rubbed his chin. "One of the side effects of coffee restrictions! Co-...Col-..."

"Coleman?"

His colleague's green eyes got a glimpse, a smile appearing on his tired face.

"Right. Ian Coleman. Some weirdo if you ask me... Pierce has banned anyone from coming in right now. Go figure!"

Chloe turned around and watched Pierce who was still busy inside his office. Did he want to keep her out of the investigation? Lieutenant or not, he should have informed her of that progress. She had risked her life, hers and Lucifer's to catch this guy. All things considered, that was probably the problem. She had risked her life and that of a civilian consultant. She had been reckless and had hidden valuable information from Pierce, information that could have changed everything; starting with the fatal fall they had both suffered, she and Lucifer.

Turning to Carl again, she hid her annoyance with a smile.

"Speaking of coffee... Marline just made some. You better get to the kitchen before there's not a drop left."

"Really? But—"

"I can keep a close eye on your guy until you come back, if you want," Chloe proposed him in a friendly tone. "It's just for five minutes…" she added, shrugging.

The proposal was too tempting to let it go. Carl cheerfully thanked her and rushed to the kitchen, eagerly looking for smoky caffeine for his thirsty throat. Chloe felt bad about fooling him like this, but she quickly put that feeling aside. Carl would forgive her. After all, he was the one who taught her to 'pace' her honesty during an investigation.

He and... Lucifer.

Chloe waited a few more seconds before approaching her hand towards the metal handle of the door, making sure that no one else but her was hanging around and certainly not Pierce. The door made a slight squeak, barely noticed by the few people still present as she discreetly snuck into the interrogation room.

The door closed slowly behind Chloe, isolating her - her and the man sit a few steps away - from the rest of the world; separating her from any reason and professional responsibility. Chloe wasn't there as a detective looking for avowal. She couldn't care less right now. To be honest, she had no idea why she went inside the interrogation room.

She stayed a moment near the doors, looking at the man who had tried to kill her. She had already seen his face in her files but seeing him like this was... different. Still that snub nose, that stained skin from nicotine and dull brown hair. He looked as frail as on the pictures, but he still showed something being far from any kind of weakness. Ian lifted his head when he heard her come in, moving his handcuffed hands away from his face. Chloe noticed that he didn't look surprised to see her. Nor angry.

That was... odd.

Without Lucifer's help; if Lucifer hadn't been who he was... she would never have survived the trap that had been set up by the man sitting in front of her. He knew it. As he knew that Martha Jameson neither had a slight chance of survival. Ian was gifted and organized enough not to leave any witnesses behind.

This failure should have made him hit the roof or break his apparent confidence, at least.

No, he watched her instead - confident and amused somehow - pulling the free chair to the other end of the black table and sitting on it, smiling to her all along.

"Where's your partner?"

Far too confident, yeah. "Why? Wanna finish the job?" replied Chloe as quietly as possible. "I can understand that; failure... Some people can't handle it, such a _bad_ result, huh?"

Ian's smile widened, to her displeasure.

"Oooh… sounds like someone's still mad at me, is she?"

"Murder attempt on a police officer; this is gonna be costly, you know? Even with a nice judge…" she thought aloud. "You won't see the the light of day for a very long time. _If_ you survive that long, of course."

He didn't say a word; quiet. There was no sign of anxiety about spending a good part of his life in prison, at the mercy of prisoners much stronger than him. He was still not angry that she reminded him of his incapacity of getting rid of her; a detective from the L.A.P.D.

Chloe watched his hands now lying flat on the table, handcuffs scraping against the table's wood from time to time as he moved. He wasn't shaking, nor playing with his fingers to hide his nervousness.

Calm.

Something was wrong, but what?

"You could have avoided all this," she continued. "It was only a matter of time before we made the connection between you and Jameson. Smart as you are... you should have known."

"And you should have known what to expect from me. A bomber…. And you, you rush headlong? _Tchhhhhh!_ Such a reckless girl!"

He tilted his head to the side, squinting. "Or not."

She held his gaze; hiding her growing confusion behind her impassivity. Ian broke eye contact by lifting one hand to his mouth to smother a sudden cough. Chloe waited, using this short period of time to choose another approach.

Her gut was shouting at her that there was definitely something weird with this guy.

And she was rarely wrong.

"Why did you try to kill us, my partner and I? It was an unnecessary risk. After you killed Martha, you could have just disappeared. Why stay, then?"

"Where is he, by the way? You didn't tell me," asked the suspect, leaning towards her with a grin.

"Why do you care?"

"Oh, I don't," he assured her by raising his hands as high as possible with the handcuffs. "Not me."

"Not you?" she repeated. "Who does?"

So, he had an accomplice? From the beginning? This possibility hadn't even crossed her mind.

Ian looked at the one-way mirror over her shoulder.

"You're sure he's not around?"

"Who helped you? Give me something to work with and I might return you the favour, Ian."

He laughed and shook his head, his laugh quickly turning into another bout of coughing. "How?" he asked her. "You're gonna ask him to show me some mercy down there, huh?!"

Chloe frowned. "What?"

"He hasn't filled his ruler duties there for a long time. Hell no longer belongs to him."

Her blood turned to ice.

Chloe clenched her fists and didn't take her eyes off Ian; cursing herself for leaving her gun at her desk, nor warning anyone of her presence here. She sat up, putting as much distance as possible between her and this man.

"What are you?"

He nonchalantly shrugged, pleased to see her that much on her guards. "Just an average guy giving a hand."

"Giving a hand? To who? Who's behind all this?"

"Come on, Detective," Ian reprimanded her with a sardonic tone. "Where's the fun in telling you?"

He coughed again. This lasted longer than the previous times. It sounded like his lungs were close to coming out of his mouth. Chloe straightened up abruptly, the legs of her chair scraping the floor, and hit the table with her both hands. She leaned towards him, demanding in a harsh tone _, "Who?"_

"Did he like it?" Ian asked point blank, out of breath.

She stared at him, confused. "Like? like what?"

"Falling again."

Chloe's eyes were wide-open, now.

How the hell did he know that?

"He liked it, for sure," kept muttering Ian, nodding and looking blankly at her. "He always liked to punish others…. He liked my present, I'm sure. He told me he'd like t—"

"Who told you this?! _Answer me!_ "

Ian suddenly curled up in his chair, crying in agony. Before Chloe could move a muscle, he sat up and began to vomit a sheaf of blood that splashed on her face and clothes.

"Go—! _Need help here!"_ she shouted as she rushed towards Ian who was starting to convulse against the table.

The table swung forward, unable to support his weight any longer. He then collapsed to the ground, a pool of blood growing around him while he kept vomiting a lot of it. Chloe knelt beside him and tried to hold his face between her hands, her fingers slipping with all the blood that was still dripping from him; not only from his mouth, but also from his nose, eyes and ears.

"Ian? Ian hang on! _Help me! Call an ambulance, now!"_ she cried again.

She could hear people crying outside the room, alerted by hers.

Gosh, there was so much blood….

"Ian? Ian! Look at me, just look at me," she encouraged him by finally capturing his gaze. "You're gonna be fine, okay?"

He smiled at her. At least, she felt he was. It was hard to tell with all the blood. He fought his own body taken by uncontrollable spasms and raised his bloody face to hers, jabbering with a blissful smirk; _"F'r the w-wages… 'f sins…is d-death." *_

He fell back to the ground, each of his bones meticulously broken by a very last convulsion, which was immersed by an equally final scarlet spurt.

* * *

Tbc

 **God works in mysterious ways**

* * *

Ian's last words - "For the wages of sins is death." (Romans 6;23)

Only two chapters left, guys! And the next one will come shortly (you chose and vote). I'm gonna translate the 5th chap of 'These war & games' too (Navaros' desire is mine ^^)

Thanks for reading! :)


	10. God works in mysterious ways

**GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS**

10

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

Pierce barely took the time to catch his breath.

Chloe had never seen him so beside himself. But, to be honest, she had never seen him express any real emotions since he'd been in charge here. Some disdain at best.

"Are you even aware of how badly you fucked up?!" he shouted, as he had done so tirelessly for the past fifteen minutes.

She could swear she saw the window between them and the rest of the precinct shaking slightly. No surprise really; the built tension between her and her boss was such that it might easily have imploded the entire office. Standing before Pierce who kept yelling at her, Chloe opened her mouth intent on defending herself, "Sir, I—"

"You come in the middle of the night for anything but professional matters and find a way to waste three days of work in less than five damn minutes!" he continued, submitting her to his anger without allowing any kind of interruption.

However, it wasn't enough to indefinitely silence Chloe who had just been rid of Ian Coleman's warm, sticky blood, the man pronounced dead an hour ago. Her long, still wet hair, quickly tied in a loose braid along her neck and shoulder, didn't help Chloe to forget the tacky touch of the deceased suspect on her skin.

"Now what, are you gonna pretend that I killed this man?!" she replied angrily, crossing her arms.

Her bloody shirt was essential for the follow-up of the investigation, but even without it, even by wearing this scratchy sweater, she couldn't get away from this persistent feeling. It felt like Ian's blood survived beyond time and reality, by its mere memory. She felt _marked_ **,** in a way. Like she was wearing an invisible target spat from this man's mouth, that kept growing on her by the main instigator working in the shadows.

Pierce leaned forward on his desk, his fists pressed against the rigid metal, and he gave her a death stare. "I'm not pretending anything, Decker. I'm your supervisor! A supervision that you took the liberty to overstep for God knows what reason! You questioned a suspect while you weren't on duty, and now he can't tell us anything useful!"

"I did question him," confirmed Chloe, lifting her chin. "I did because I'm a detective from the L.A.P.D., because it's my job! You put me in charge of this case, and I questioned my suspect. It's that simple!"

"Is it?! That's not how things work here, _Detective!"_ replied Marcus, putting all his disdain into the last word.

He walked around his desk and stopped in front of fer, their tensed faces mere inches apart. Chloe didn't step back; raising his voice and trying to stifle her by his proximity wouldn't affect her. She remained where she was, with her chin up and arms stubbornly crossed on her chest, waiting for the next round of accusations from her 'supervisor'- as he so loved to remind her.

"I _am_ in charge here, not you. You lost the right to question this man by playing solo with your partner. You might have been hit by several tons of rubble, but you didn't learn your lesson, did you? You're still convinced that you can do whatever you want!"

"I'm the one who's 'playing solo'?! That's odd, because it sounded like you and Lucifer were doing just that."

"Excuse me?" exclaimed Pierce, frowning.

"You've been playing solo with him for weeks to find the Sinnerman, so please, keep your damn scolding for yourself… _Sir_ ," she spat.

He stepped back slightly, studying her expression before letting out a half-astonished, half-annoyed exclamation. He passed her and stopped near the shut door of his office, also crossing his arms, and finally turned towards her. "So, Lucifer couldn't shut up, could he? I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"He didn't say anything," she clarified. "I'm skilled enough to know when someone's hiding things from me, that's all."

Why would she say that?

She certainly didn't want to come to Lucifer's defence given the situation. Including him - even indirectly - in the conversation made her feel deeply uncomfortable. Thinking about him was the last thing she needed. Coming to his defence at the risk of her career too.

She tried to keep Lucifer away from her thoughts and focused on the man a few steps away from her;about the procedure to follow. Would he fire her or not? He took a deep breath to calm down and came back to his desk without looking at Chloe who quietly followed him with her eyes.

Once arrived near the furniture, Pierce nodded thoughtfully and finally looked at her, his features still tense. "I should suspend you right away."

"But you're not going to because...?"

"Because I want to know what Ian told you before he died," he answered. "Don't get me wrong, Decker... you're not out of the woods, far from it. Your career will depend on the information you can give me, got it?"

"Got it, Lieutenant."

He nodded once again, satisfied that he had made his point and sat behind his desk, showing her the other seat. It was only when she sat down that Chloe realized how exhausted she was, the sensation skilfully hidden by the growing tension of the last few days; every inch of her body was literally screaming in agony. Everything that had happened recently... it was a lot to bare. Even for her.

But she couldn't go home, because of everything that happened lately.

"Well then," said Pierce, joining his hands. "Tell me what you got."

Chloe took a moment to decide what she should and shouldn't say. The supernatural elements should obviously remain unknown to her boss, as for the rest... she had no valid reason to keep her deductions from him.

Might as well not beat about the bush. "Ian worked for the Sinnerman."

This simple sentence instantly caught Pierce's attention. He sat up. "Ian Coleman was a gifted bomber, Decker. A murderer, certainly, but nothing more," he contradicted her.

"Maybe," she admitted. "Or maybe not. Some points of the investigation don't fit."

"Like?"

"Like the fact that he stayed in town after Martha Jameson's murder. Once the package was sent, all he had to do was leave. Why didn't he? Why waiting for us - Lucifer and I - in the abandoned building and then try to kill us? It wasn't some desperate action; he had meticulously planned it. Each of his bombs had been placed where it would cause the most damage. And even after that... he could have left town! But he stayed here... and got caught three days later."

Chloe shook her head. "Ian Coleman was a sociopath. But he was also smart enough to cover his tracks better than this and vanish into thin air. He _wanted to_ be found! He wanted _me_ to find him... me and Lucifer."

"You and Lucifer?" repeated Pierce, frowning. "You're sure about this?"

 _"Did he like it?"_

"Quite sure, yes. He was obsessed with the fact that Lucifer wasn't with me during the questioning. He couldn't stop asking after him."

"Did he tell you why?"

"He didn't have time."

He didn't, indeed… not enough time.

Ian hadn't been able to tell her more about this before he collapsed in the middle of an impressive pool of blood. Chloe was pretty sure this wasn't just about revenge, as she had sometimes experienced in her work. The woman taking revenge from her husband who had been unfaithful to her, the partner betrayed by his best friend... and the list was long. Lucifer often acted harum-scarum, according to his pleasures and, consequently, provoked the anger of many people. Stupid behaviour led to reckless revenge. But it was none of those things.

Nothing _human_.

 _"Hell no longer belongs to him."_

Hell...

It couldn't be a simple metaphor; nor the rest he told her.

Ian knew. And if he knew, if the Sinnerman was behind all this….

"But he said enough to convince me that Lucifer was the target. That and the fact that he didn't work alone," Chloe continued. "He was helping someone, that's what he said..."

"And you think this 'someone' is the Sinnerman? Why?"

Chloe leaned forward, her elbows resting on her thighs, and recited the suspect's last words to her boss, "For the wages of sin is death."

Something changed in Pierce's eyes as he instantly sat up, clenching his fists. She wouldn't have been surprised if he suddenly decided to take his anger out on the furniture because what she saw in his eyes, in his posture and breathing, was far from any quietude or self-control. He didn't, though; continuing to stare at Chloe without blinking, not even once, for a moment.

"Who told you this?"

His tone was cold, so distant from his previous anger. Chloe continued to stare at him more intensely as concern grew within her. She felt that he wouldn't hesitate to strangle her if she didn't give him an answer, or at least one that wouldn't point her as responsible. Responsible for what... she had no idea and wasn't sure she ever wanted to know.

"Ian. Just before he died," she hastened to answer, waiting for her supervisor's outburst.

Pierce's fist suddenly struck the desk, startling her. He got up abruptly and let out a curse while taking a few raging steps from the wall to the shelf. "Son of a bitch!"

Chloe watched him walk and decided that it wasn't the best time to intervene. Pierce had already reached a very honourable level of rage when he reprimanded her for her unprofessional questioning, but his state here was on a completely different level. Lucifer had mentioned some link between her boss and this mythical criminal, but he didn't give her details. Just that he had dealt with him in the past; and not in the best ways.

A few seconds passed before Pierce seemed to remember Chloe's presence in his office.

"This is our guys," he said, his features still tense.

"That's what I'm thinking," she agreed.

"But I don't see why the Sinnerman would go after Lucifer, Decker."

"Neither do I. But... I didn't want to believe Lucifer at the time, but he was convinced that the Sinnerman was behind his kidnapping. He wasn't the only one who believed that. Steve Banales' killer - Sam Scorcese - had said he owed him a favour, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"And Lucifer wasn't very discreet about his own research on our suspect," Chloe sighed. "Which m—"

"Which makes him a target," Pierce finished.

She nodded.

It was even more than that, according to her.

 _"Falling again... He liked it, for sure. He told me he'd like t—"_

Falling again.

Imposing this to Lucifer, after what he had experienced the very first time. Of course, this hundred meter fall was nothing compared to the first one and the consequences it may have had on him, but it was nevertheless one of the most traumatic experiences he had lived over several millennia. And using it against him, using it this way, it was pure sadism.

Lucifer wasn't a target.

He was _the_ target.

The Sinnerman... Who was he?

What was his connection with Lucifer to know so much about him, about his past? He seemed to know more than she had ever known in two years of partnership, or even in two weeks of supernatural catch-up. With what she had recently discovered, she was no longer really sure she wanted to know the rest. The Sinnerman's real - supernatural, most likely - identity was part of it.

She clenched her fists on her jeans, furious at herself. Furious to be led like this, once again.

Enough of this.

Lucifer, the Sinnerman, God... Fuck all of them. She wouldn't let them control her life, her decisions, her emotions, or anything else. She was a detective and no divine entity nor miraculous identity would prevent her from doing her job.

But had she even decided to do this work? Was it a conscious act?

Did God create her to find this Sinnerman and— And what, then?

Where was her decision-making power?

Her free will?

Pierce's sigh brought her back to the present time. Chloe clearly didn't bring any good news and this umpteenth sigh hardly hid his deep confusion about it. He sat back and briefly rubbed his forehead without saying a word.

"You know where your partner is?" he asked, lowering his hand.

Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, Chloe shrugged and wriggled on her seat, avoiding his gaze.

"I don't know. He must still be in the hospital… his brother - Amenadiel - told me that he woke up yesterday morning. I haven't heard from him since."

Not heard... Or not wanted to.

Pierce obviously noticed her discomfort, but didn't question her further, busy thinking about the best way to proceed with the cards they had in their hand. "Is there any chance that Lucifer will accept staying in the background while we force the Sinnerman to come out of hiding?"

Pierce may have asked, but she knew he was smart enough to already know the answer. Although, understanding her partner's behaviour didn't need much cleverness. She couldn't see herself asking Lucifer to sit quietly in a corner waiting for them to find this dangerous criminal. She couldn't see herself asking him the slightest thing, to tell the truth.

So, she answered honestly, "There's a chance. One in a million."

"Right."

He kept quiet for a moment, lost in thought before shaking his head; nodding after to announce a final decision on the matter. "We need to keep him as far away from the investigation as possible, then. Someone should also be designated to keep a close eye on him, just in case. Who knows... he might help us find a lead? And we can't let the Sinnerman get any closer to him."

Deep down, Chloe knew she should have spoken to support her partner. They were partners, indeed. Lucifer might be a valuable asset in the smooth running of the investigation - not only because of his supernatural strength and his mojo-thing - but also thanks to his many illegal contacts throughout Los Angeles. And probably much further than the city.

He was an asset.

Especially regarding this tiny detail unknown to Pierce and everyone else. This detail, this possibility that the Sinnerman wasn't as _human as_ they thought.

She should have said something.

But she didn't. She just nodded.

"I know someone," she said. "Someone close to him who won't arouse suspicions."

"Good," Pierce approved. "It's important that you keep this conversation to yourself, Decker. Lucifer should know as little as possible about it for as long as possible. First of all, we have to prove that there is a link between Coleman and the Sinnerman and then—"

"Excuse me, Sir, but…" Chloe interrupted him, perplexed. "Did you just say 'we'?"

"Well, as you told me earlier... this is _your_ job, Decker; your case. You don't want it anymore?"

"No! I mean— Yes, of course I want it, but—" she stammered pitifully as she looked for words. "It's just th... why entrust me with it now after keeping me out of the picture for so long? I don't get it."

"I didn't dismiss you because I thought you didn't have the shoulders to solve this case," he explained. "I dismissed you from it because you have something to lose, when Lucifer didn't. Apart from his life, of course..."

She stared at him with growing confusion. "Something to lose?"

"You're a mother. Your daughter - even Espinoza - could become the Sinnerman's targets. Believe me... I know what I'm talking about. This man has no mercy, Decker, not even for kids. You need to consider this before you give me your answer. Are you sure you want to continue despite the risks?"

Always the same question.

She had asked herself so many times from the time she signed her Academy entry form and after her first serious injury on duty. She had never stopped asking herself this question, refusing to accept the dire answer her father had received.

The same question, always.

And still the same decision for Chloe.

But this situation was different from all the others, she couldn't deny it. Or even get around it with a few positive thoughts.

It was different. The Sinnerman was different from the others.

The consequences would be different.

The wisest decision would have been to give up, but—

She couldn't.

No.

No, there was no way that she would fold under this new threat - supernatural or not.

"I won't keep my daughter safe by hiding, Sir," she said with conviction. "The best way to protect my family is to nab this bastard."

Pierce briefly looked at her without saying another word, then nodding. "All right. Let's get to work, then. Go see Lopez in the lab; she must have finished her first tests. If not, tell her to get a move on. And inform Lucifer that he is being assigned to another partner for an indefinite period of time."

He paused, pensive, before continuing, "I don't think Espinoza would mind some company."

"I bet that's Dan's deepest desire, Sir," said Chloe with a smirk.

"Tell him it's to ensure Lucifer's protection."

"Sure! Not a chance he can argue with that…."

They shared a knowing look that lasted only a thousandth of a second before her boss wore his usual impassive mask again. A thousandth of a second during which she forgot the rest, feeling lighter.

"Dismissed," Pierce said, taking a file from the corner of his desk.

She immediately straightened up with unexpected abruptness, her chair scraping the floor. Pierce's intrigued expression followed her and she gave him a sheepish smile in return before heading for the door. However, she was stopped one last time by the Lieutenant just as she opened the door; the police station's morning noise instantly rushed into the confined and quiet space of the office. "Decker!"

"Sir?"

She turned around and Pierce also seemed to be looking for words by distractedly tapping the opened file before him.

"Act very carefully. I don't want to lose one of my best detectives."

"Of course," she answered.

They exchanged another look. She was surprised to hear this from him, especially after what she'd done with Ian. She would have thought his opinion on her would have changed, considering how angry he'd been. He seemed genuinely worried about her.

And she could only be touched by that.

A comforting warmth spread through her limbs and she smiled at him again without even realizing it as she closed the door behind her.

Chloe immediately headed towards Ella's lab, distractedly looking for her phone in her pockets. It was only when her fingers touched the back pocket of her jeans - and the device itself - that she froze in the middle of the corridor. Frozen by a sudden realization that she had placed in a corner of her mind until now.

Lucifer.

 _"Inform Lucifer that he's being assigned to another partner for an indefinite period of time."_

She'll have to go to him.

But—

She started to play with her phone, staring at an invisible spot before her, not caring about the puzzled looks her colleagues gave her. She should have felt deep guilt, for putting aside her partner like this. Yet, she couldn't help but feel relief.

She didn't feel guilty at all.

She _needed_ this.

For hours, she had tried to disregard it, make excuses for both of them, something, anything that would miraculously put things in order. Unfortunately, miracle won't fit to this supernatural situation. How ironic.

She needed time, sh—

 _"It'd be so much easier for me to run away and pretend that none of this had ever happened, but.… I can't do this. I don't want to."_

Her thumbnail scratched her phone case.

The situation had changed.

What she may have said at the time couldn't—

What? Couldn't it be taken for granted?

She wasn't running away.

Distancing yourself and running away, it wasn't the same.

Chloe bit her lower lip angrily, struggling against her tears that threatened to flow. What could she do? She still didn't have a single clue. She was lost, knowing too many things, so few. That was the problem. What she had found out was far too big and eclipsed her own existence, her decision-making power. 'Eclipsing' was probably very far from what she was going through... her free will had been purely and solely _obliterated_ by this uncommon knowledge.

 _"The proof of the divine is something difficult or impossible to deal with, for people as fragile as humans can be."_

Well… 'impossible' was an understatement.

It was as if the slightest shock could easily have shattered her into a thousand pieces. Yes, Chloe was fragile. Weak and lost. She was human, but... not as human as she thought.

Fragile miracle human offered to the Devil's and his Almighty Father's will.

She felt trapped in an inextricable situation.

If she ever decided to do one thing or another, to say this or that to Lucifer or even to someone else…. Was it really her decision? How could she know that she was in charge?

Had she ever been?

Deep in chaotic thoughts, Chloe lifted her head when she heard music. She had reached Ella's lab without even realizing it and was now standing at the door. Chloe watched the young forensic scientist sing and move and groove as she worked at her microscope.

"Ella?"

Turning around, Ella opened her eyes wide, turning off the music. "Oh, my, God," she exclaimed.

Before Chloe could open her mouth again, Ella rushed to her and hugged her, repeating once or twice this divine exclamation against her shoulder. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I'm so glad you're okay!"

She stepped back and offered a bright smile to her colleague, her forehead nevertheless marked by anxiety.

"I—" said Chloe, frowning.

"When Dan told me about the explosion, I was just— I was so scared for you! And don't you dare scare the crap out of me like that again, Chloe! You, me, Linda and Maze; we're a tribe - none of us are allowed to leave the tribe, not like this! I prayed the Big Guy up there and He did listen; He protected you! Ow, what about Lucifer?! I prayed for him too! But y'know... God works in mysterious ways and all that, uh? He's kind of stingy about miracles, looks like just one at a time. How is he doing?"

"Who, God?" asked Chloe, a bit lost.

"No, dummy!" exclaimed Ella, gently hitting her shoulder with her fist. " _Lucifer!_ Dan told me he's been seriously injured."

 _"Ow._ He's... hm. He's fine. I think."

She cleared her throat, embarrassed, and tried to distract her friend with another subject. "Got any news about Ian Coleman?" she asked her, mechanically squeezing her phone.

"If by 'any' you mean 'weird', I do," sighed Ella as she got back to her microscope.

She carefully removed the slide from under the lens and came back to Chloe.

"It's really weird. Looks like this poor dude just... imploded from the inside."

"Imploded?"

"Yup! For an unknown reason, each of his organs imploded at the same time. So ironic faith, right?"

"And did you find anything in his system that could explain this... implosion?"

Ella shook her head.

"Nope; nada!" she replied, replacing the slide under the microscope. "I checked for poisons, bacteria and other harmful substances that might have caused this, but it's a dead end. I keep digging, but what happened to him is really—"

"Surreal?" proposed Chloe.

"Yeah!" approved the forensic before shrugging. "Maybe our Boss up there will give us the answer."

"Yeah, maybe," whispered Chloe.

Ella couldn't have been that far from the truth.

A shiver of apprehension scratched the back of her neck. If this Sinnerman was directly responsible for Ian's death - responsible far beyond scientific limits - it was worrying. This possibility confirmed the rest of her assumptions, which gradually took the form of irrefutable facts and evidence in this case.

In addition to knowing Lucifer's past and therefore his true identity, the Sinnerman was somehow related to him. He wasn't just some violent and merciless crime baron. Lucifer remained convinced that this man wasn't human and, until now, nothing had linked this interesting theory to the few facts they had already been able to gather. And unless Chloe had been around - which she knew she hadn't - her partner could only have been neutralized by a divine or infernal being.

And then when you add the no less disturbing death of their main suspect.

Yeah... infernal sounded right.

How was she supposed to investigate?

Chloe gently shook her head, not wishing to linger on her doubts. She already had so many; it was sorely lacking in certainties.

"Okay. Let me know as soon as you find something," she said, distractedly tapping her phone in her palm.

"Got it!'

She walked towards the door but slowed her step; still tapping her cell phone in her hand, at a much slower pace though. She continued to do so without really paying attention to it; carried away by a vivid stream of questions and doubts. She was starting to get tired of this, really. Still filled with doubts, she turned halfway to the young scientist who had started to move to the rhythm of the music again.

One last anxious glance at her phone and Chloe made her decision. "Hm, Ella…."

"Yuuuuuuuup?" she replied without looking back.

Chloe hesitated a little longer and then joined Ella near the table, placing one of her hands on it.

"I was wondering... As a believer-believer, what's your opinion about faith?"

Ella looked up and frowned. "Faith? What do you mean?"

"Well... God's supposed to be omniscient, right?"

Ella nodded.

"So, He knows everything we do and everything we plan to do before we even know ourselves. It makes sense if we consider the fact that He created Humanity - He necessarily influences us. It looks like He decides everything in advance for every one of us, doesn't He?"

Ella took a moment to think about it before answering; "Maybe. And maybe not."

"Why not?"

"He does know everything, but in the end… He lets us choose," Ella said.

"But there's no real choice if everything is decided in advance," replied Chloe.

Ella shook her head, smiling.

"No, no. He knows, but I don't think He decides anything. We're the ones who decide. I think that God sees all the possibilities offered to us - good and bad - and which ones will tip the scales in Heaven's or Hell's favour. All He wants is to bring out the best in each of us. He's like... a benevolent guide. See?"

Chloe nodded, still pensive.

"Isn't it… annoying? I mean, your whole life - even a very small portion of it - being guided by this superior entity that will never explain to you why you're living this or why you chose a path among the others?"

"It wouldn't be fun, would it?" replied her colleague, shrugging. "There's no point in ruining the fun by spoiling the whole trip!"

"That's... that's a nice way of seeing things," she conceded.

She would have liked to see it that way.

"You know," Ella continued. "It's mainly a matter of perception."

'What's that?"

"We don't like the idea of being led, even for a small part of our lives and that's because we want to control everything by ourselves. But it's impossible! We should just... surf on the wave of life and see what happens. Plus, if His support brings you something positive; why not taking it?"

"Why not, indeed…"

She smiled at Ella who smiled in turn. "Thanks."

"Any time."

"See you later," Chloe called to her.

"Hug Lucifer for me!" she demanded as her friend left her lab.

Chloe didn't answer back, walking slowly towards her desk and playing with her phone again. She would have liked to say she would embrace Ella's positive vision, but—

Lucifer, God, His Divine Plans, destiny, fate, choice...

Where was she in the middle of all this?

 _Who_ was she?

Once arrived at her desk, she took her identification plate placed behind her computer and distractedly stroked with her thumb the engraved letters. Touching her name, her identity, the one she thought she was all this time; she did so and still barely managed to reach it.

Chloe pressed her thumb against the very last letter, as hard as she could. She took a deep breath and quickly dialled a number before bringing her phone to her ear, then realizing that it hadn't been vibrating for quite some time.

She spoke as soon as her caller picked up. "Maze? I've got a job for you…."

* * *

 **Tbc** **-** 'Ignorance is bliss'.

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Thanks for reading :) (thanks **Kay_Kat** for the correction)

Just a chapter left ! Cominh as soon as possible X)

Let a review if you liked


	11. Ignorance is bliss

**Author's notes:**

 _This is the end!_

 _Uncountable thanks to everyone who read this story from start to end :3 I couldn't be more pleased to share it with you!_

 _May I advise you a song for this last part (I listened to it so many times when I wrote this **)?_

'Save Yourself' (Kaleo)

 _It's heartbreaking!_

 _Also, my beta still being on a trip for a few weeks, I can't assure a perfect english here. But I'll published the beta-version as soon as I could._

 _Enjoy! (or not XD_ )

* * *

 **IGNORANCE IS BLISS**

11

* * *

She'd done this before.

More than once.

She couldn't say how much exactly; far too often.

Chloe rubbed her palms.

She watched the floor numbers swolly scroll on the screen.

She hesitated to praise or curse such a slow pace. Too slow and she could still turn around, too fast and she could stand by her decision. Either way, it terrified her as much as it appeased her.

She lowered her head and gazed her reflection; blurry, undecided.

Yeah, she'd done this before.

The reflection was quite different, however. She approached the shut doors and lifted her hand, brushing with her fingertips this representation of herself. Her drawn features, the exhaustion inscribed deep inside her - in the depths of her eyes, on her lips that she had been biting ever since she entered inside the elevator... Everywhere.

Her fragility printed inside this enclosed space.

This space, this cabin spreading intense but perfectly opposite emotions she had had throughout her partnership with Lucifer.

God's miracle was on her way to meet the Devil...

It sounded poetic.

Chloe lowered her hand and stepped back, not taking her eyes off this sickening reflection of vulnerability.

 _"You make me vulnerable. And maybe that's okay."_

She clenched her fists, her breathing speeding up slightly.

 _"Maybe that's okay."_

It took her a moment to realize that the confined space of her torment was no longer confined, the unbearable reflection finally engulfed by a completely different vision.

A second passed, a minute...

And the doors slowly slid towards each other, before Chloe who had remained still - barely moving along with her quick breathing. She blocked them with her hand at the last moment, praising and hating her reflexes.

Another minute passed.

Endless. Short to excess.

A minute and Chloe took a step forward. Slow. Too fast. Then another step, and another one. She heard the elevator doors close in her back, preventing her for good to flee. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head to put her thoughts back in place.

She had made her decision.

She looked at the couch, isolated inside the darkness, and the white marble counter; feeling both relieved and worried to not find anyone in the penthouse. He should have been there; he wasn't downstairs, dancing and boasting among these ladies irreducibly tempted by his natural charisma, as he described it to her. Where was he? She didn't know where else he could be at this late hour and didn't think she would have to go after him on top of everything else. Although it would have been a fair return; she who had been trying so hard to avoid him lately. To the point that she postponed this appointment until sundown; she could have come here much earlier.

Yeah, a fair return.

It looked exactly like Lucifer.

Then came a creepy noise and she let out a slight sound of surprise, which was followed by a yell of pain as dreadful to hear.

" _Gh—!_ Son of a bi—"

"Before you finish... Let me remind you that my mother is yours, Lucifer!"

The balcony… it came from the balcony.

 _"—bird!"_

Chloe moved towards the origin of this injurious noise; she saw Amenadiel right to the door leading to the outside of the penthouse, his imposing stature dimly lit by the lights. He was turning his back on her and hadn't noticed her presence yet, just as the Devil, partially hidden from her sight. All she managed to see from here was a _white_ form that was firmly held by Amenadiel.

Was it one of Lucifer's wings?

She didn't come any closer, quietly watching the two fallen angels, one insulting and the other being insulted.

"Stop acting like a child, it's just a scratch!"

"Just a scratch?!" Lucifer raged. "You were supposed to help me put it back in place; not pull it off!"

She heard a plaintive growl that could only come from her partner, a strong breath of air suddenly rushing into the living room to disappear the next second.

"Take it easy," his older brother advised him.

"This isn't my first 'scratch', brother, thank you very much!" replied Lucifer. "It wasn't that... brutal last time. Wh—"

He stopped talking and his face appeared through the window, right after he shifted to the side to meet her gaze, his own eyes wide opened with surprise. "Detective?"

She looked at him, unable to pronounce a single syllable. Unable to breathe properly or look away from his astonished face.

She hadn't seen his face for almost three days; which felt like a lifetime. An eternity, so to speak. She didn't move, just rubbing her hands in this heavy silence. Lucifer had also retreated into silence, unable to take his eyes off her; as if he feared that she would disappear with just a blink.

He was dressed like his usual self, with his dark sleeves rolled up to the elbows; but no matter how expensive they might be, these clothes could in no way hide the anxiety of their owner.

Not to her.

Probably because she felt just the same.

The hue of his shirt reminded her of the purplish-blue colour that had marked his right flank, hidden then under his white shirt and his clever speech. She thus recalled the time when everything changed between them, so much more than his real identity had done before.

Amenadiel then cleared his throat, drawing both"s attention to him. "I'm gonna leave you some space to talk," he said as he walked into the living room. "Chloe... It was nice to see you again."

Chloe was grateful that he didn't force herto engage in conversation when none of them were ready. She also felt slightly relieved not to have to justify her hasty departure from the hospital; although Amenadiel had every rights to ask her. Anyone else would have blamed her for not showing much interest to Lucifer's state of health. Lucifer, who risked his life in order to spare hers.

Had it been an obligation to him? Saving her from the deathly fall?

 _"I'm just a pawn to Him! I will not be manipulated again, Detective!"_

Had it been his choice?

She barely noticed Amenadiel's departure, her thoughts split between this eternal questioning and the Devil standing before her. He hadn't moved either, keeping staring at her through the window. Rubbing her hands one last time, Chloe took a step towards him. The cool evening breeze made her shiver despite her thick, oversized sweater.

She put her hand on the railing and leaned forward, not daring to look directly at him even if they were so close from each other. The sounds of the city below barely reached her ears, vague noises swallowed by the wind or her strong heartbeats. Lucifer cleared his throat and she ventured to look at him, she doubted that a simple cough could stop this lump in her throat.

In addition to the surprise on his features, she saw tangible tension. It looked like he was barely breathing, his whole body frozen, waiting for her first words to live again.

He _knew._

He recalled what he had told her. Of course he did...

And she knew, too.

Chloe moved away from the railing and slightly moved her chin inward the penthouse, where Amenadiel just disappeared. "What I heard—"

"My brother's subtle help," Lucifer answered, distractedly massaging his shoulder. "Not sure it was a good idea…"

"Right. Your broken wing... I almost forgot."

"I wish I could do the same," he said, glaring at the elevator.

She nodded, suddenly being at loss of words.

As was Lucifer.

This... Their way of reacting to each other; all this had already happened. The fear, the doubts, the questioning, an unbelievable revelation and a talk that they were both afraid to start. They had done this before. And Chloe was still wondering if things would turn out the way they did last time, if she would or wouldn't manage to get over this information.

But... Nothing ever happened the same, did it?

"Maze told me I'd find you here," she said at last.

"Where else would I've been?"

Lucifer smiled, still tensed, and put his hands in his pockets, wincing briefly as he unintentionally rolled his shoulder muscles. He no longer had this deathly pallor, the one he wore for hours, sitting on the ground, then laying on this bed.

"You look better."

"I had plenty of time to recover,"he cautiously replied.

The insinuation was subtle.

She didn't notice any reproach in his voice, though; only a deep justified apprehension, given what she had found out and what he had hidden from her.

He made a vague gesture towards the living room. "May I offer you a drink?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

And, like last time, Chloe sat on the same couch, waiting for the same glass that was supposed to soften everything. As last time, Lucifer was busy before the bar to satisfy her and postpone this talk about identity and its consequences, as much as he could. She thought back to this night; his white wings and her laugh that she could almost hear in the heavy silence stifling her. She thought back to her decision, back then.

 _"I want you by my side, Lucifer. I trust you."_

Trust...

"And voilà."

Chloe sat up and willingly accepted the glass that Lucifer gave her. He then sat on the opposite sofa. She didn't invite him to join her. Not this time.

"Thanks."

The silence fell almost instantly between them, heavy and unshakable.

Lucifer poked his nose into his glass, emptying it far too quickly to have really enjoyed its contents and got up pouring some more. He might find a welcome lull in this slight distance between them both.

She was the first to speak last time.

To _really_ talk about it.

And maybe it was her turn to do it tonight, again. "I blamed you, y'know?"

She felt him turn towards her.

"Blame me?" he repeated.

The amber nectar brushed Chloe's lips and she turned to Lucifer who was still standing near the bar. He looked confused.

"When you left without warning after the poison case, I- I blamed you... I blamed you so much. I couldn't get why, how you could have done this to me…"

She shook her head, a weary smile on her lips. A smile before she looked at her partner, still standing before her. "But I get it, now," she whispered. "I-I need this too."

Lucifer stared at her, lost, before moving forward; forgetting his glass on the bar. Forgetting everything else. He sat down in front of her, looking intensely at her, looking for answers in her gaze, in her features.

"I-I must admit that's my turn not to 'get it', Detective," he said, slightly smiling. "Are you planning to leave? But— where would you go? What about the spawn, our partnership?"

Chloe shook her head, the words stuck in her throat; she said them anyway.

"No. No, I-I'm not leaving town, Lucifer."

"Well, I'm relieved!" he exclaimed.

"Lucifer…" she continued, turning her glass in her hands. "I'm sorry, but I lied."

"Lied? About what, Detective?" he wondered.

"Yes, I thought I could handle this, this huge supernatural universe to which you belong; God, angels, demons, and—"

She stopped, struggling to say aloud her miraculous existence before him. It was stupid, he _knew._ Chloe briefly shut her eyes, chasing away these burning tears that were brushing her eyelids. She forced herself to look the Devil in the eye.

"I lied to you. I can't handle this. Not after— Not now that I know the truth about us. About me... It's unbearable, way too much for me. I no longer know where I belong in this crazy world! Where I really exist…"

"You exist for real, Detective," Lucifer tried to comfort her by moving his hand towards hers.

She straightened up instantly and walked a few steps into the living room, saddened by her own reaction. She couldn't help herself. As if touching Lucifer could influence her in any way. No, no 'if' here. It would influence her, of course; she was sure of it. Chloe turned to him, Lucifer showing no sign of vexation about her sudden rejection; it didn't mean that he wasn't hurt. She knew him.

She had been destined to know him, to see beyond what anyone could reach. A handsome man who didn't care what anyone could think of him. A lie so close to the truth that Lucifer never felt bad to wear it every day. As long as the truth reached someone.

Some miracle, to be exact...

She was hurting him by doing so. And she was going to hurt him so much more.

But happy endings weren't part of their story.

"I exist only for you, Lucifer. You know it, as I know why you didn't want to tell me before today. I exist to accomplish a purpose that I haven't chosen, I'm here to be with you... and having feelings."

He lowered his head to these last words, hardly gulping..

" I don't decide anything by being here…" she continued. "But- maybe I can change this..."

Lucifer lifted his head, his dark eyes fixed on her with palpable apprehension. She struggled to support his look, but nevertheless lowered her gaze, nervously rubbing her hands. Her partner also stood up and slowly approached her.

"I fear to _get it_ now…" he said.

"Dan-...hm," she cleared her throat. "Dan's gonna need a partner for some time, so... It'd be perfect for both of us."

"Perfect?" Lucifer repeated in disbelief. "How could it be? We're _partners_ , Detective!"

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head.

He stared at her, lost, and opened his mouth - looking for something to say, something enough to change her mind. He looked for words for quite long time, it felt long enough for both of them. But nothing came. She had known him much more rebellious than this, but something told her that she wasn't the only one to feel terribly guilty here. Lucifer didn't want to impose her his presence when she didn't want him to; especially not after everything that happened.

He would respect her wishes.

It was touching, and terrible.

"But—," he stammered after a while. "We will see each other outside work, won't we?" he asked with a hint of hope. " For having a drink from time to time or to take your offspring for a walk, if we must..."

Chloe didn't make a comment about his way of talking about her daughter as a dog. She shook her head, again; destroying any hope in her former partner's eyes. "I don't think it's a good idea, Lucifer."

"Detective—," he tried to object.

She approached him, the Devil becoming quiet in a second with this proximity. Chloe looked him in the eye. "Why did you leave?" she asked. "Why did you go to Vegas? Tell me why..."

He lost himself in her gaze, in her emotions that were his from now on. A need that he couldn't blame her to feel, despite his own desires to see her stay by his side.

"I wanted to give you a choice," he whispered.

"Give it to me, then. Let me choose..."

 _Please._

She didn't say it.

But he heard it.

Lucifer stayed still for long seconds, not letting go of her gaze. He was struggling, being torn apart by these two possibilities. Give up on her and encourage her free will… or not. He couldn't more care about this. About her asking him such a thing, such an important thing for him. Chloe was struggling to control herself, this abyss that was diggen with more emotions; anger, guilt, fear, sadness… It was the strongest one, it almost stifled her; this feeling to make Lucifer pay for his Dad's irrational decisions.

Finally, Lucifer reacted. A smile. Just one. A charming and so dishonest one that Chloe instantly burned into the flames of guilt. He took her hand in his, briefly lingering to stroke it with his thumb; such a brief moment that Chloe wasn't sure he really had had such a gentle gesture towards her. Bringing her hand to his lips, the Devil slightly bowed, reverently capitulating.

"Being your partner was the greatest honor of my very long existence, Chloe Jane Decker," he said, not showing any emotion, just disconcerting courtesy.

He let go of her hand, Chloe missing his warm touch as quickly as his proximity when he walked back to the bar to pour himself a drink. He then added more cheerfully - still lying, though; "Daniel might enjoy working properly for once!"

She forced herself to laugh and smiled at him, as much as she could.

"I bet he can't wait," she said in a voice hoarse with emotion.

"Neither do I, Detective."

She rubbed her hands, feeling uncomfortable. She waved towards the elevator; slowly backing away without taking her eyes off Lucifer. "I-I should go."

He nodded, still smiling; still lying.

Chloe stopped after stepping into the cabin, turning one last time towards him; the Devil, her partner, her friend, her destiny... His manipulation.

"Goodbye, Lucifer."

He raised his glass, never stopping to smile; bid her farewell one last time. "Goodbye, Detective."

And the doors finally shut on this overplayed courtesy.

 _"But I'm not saying the whole truth."_

Chloe crossed her arms and squeezed her skin, she squeezed hard, shaking. Again, she couldn't help but look at her vague reflection, misshapen by such strong emotions… She couldn't bare it.

She jumped and curled up when a terribly strong scream shook the cabin.

Shaking, the Detective pressed hard her hands against her ears, unable to hear this truth; an inevitable consequence of her choice.

Unable to bear to know further.

She already knew far too much and missed her former ignorance, porter of simple happiness that was so painfully destroyed here and now, with each new heartbreaking roar above her head.

* * *

 **More to come with - 'The Prince of Darkness'**

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

So!

(see the readers going after her wih raging cries) RUUUUUUUUUN!

Can't help it guys, I clearly can't see Chloe reacting otherwise. I tried, it didn't fit. So no fluff, only drama and angsy here.

It's my first try of a sad ending, I hope you 'like' it as much as it can be liked, given the content.

Also, the sequel will be a biiiiiig story - murders, darkness, heavy angst, ennemies,... No wonder it will called 'The Prince of Darkness', right? XD

I have the main plot in mind but just wrote two chaps so far in french. Still, I can't wait to share it with you (and the part four as well ^^).

In the meantime, don't hesitate to let a review/fav/follow. :3

Thanks again for following the story until the end.


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